You're Back
by ILoveVampireDiaries
Summary: Sequel to 'Tough Love' Mitsao's dead, Stefan and Elena are married, and Damon is being Damon. But is all as normal as it seems? Will Stefan's troubles - including past villains and friends - finally come between him and his brother? Stelena and Bamon included. Please read and review!
1. The Suprise Present

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Vampire Diaries, or any of its characters - only the ones I make up =D**

_Soooo here's the sequel to 'Tough Love' xD Wow, I nearly had 100 reviews for that story! :P_**  
**

**_Jess:_**_Don't worry, this is still a brotherly love story :) I just need to include Elena because...you'll have to wait and see ;)_**  
**

_I definitely will try to keep this Stefan/Damon!  
_

__**Chapter One:**

Stefan lay on is back, staring at the familiar woodwork on the ceiling of his room at the Salvatore Boarding House with tired eyes.

He thought of the summer honeymoon he'd had with Elena - his wife! He still relished that word which strengthened Elena's bond to him, even though they'd been married for 5 months already.

Rolling over, he realised that Elena's side was empty.

Sitting up, he looked at the time. 3:00am.

Where would she be at this time of the morning?

That's when he saw the shadow flit across the hallway through his door that was ajar.

He tried to call Elena's name, but no sound came out.

What was wrong with him? He probably just needed some water.

Getting up, he walked out of his room and was about to go downstairs when he heard muffled laughter coming from Damon's room.

Stefan shook his head, smiling. His brother really had connected with Bonnie over the summer, hadn't he?

But then the girl laughed again, and Stefan realised with dread that it wasn't Bonnie's voice.

Maybe he should just leave Damon to do whatever he wanted?

But then again, Bonnie was a good friend, and he didn't want his brother to hurt her by sleeping with another woman!

Starting towards Damon's room, Stefan found the door open.

Without hesitating, he knocked quietly on the door and tried to speak, but found that his voice still wouldn't work.

So he walked past the door and round the corner...and stopped short, eyes widening with shock.

Damon's head whipped up, stopping his act of smothering a girl with kisses on his bed, the two lying in a somewhat passionate manner.

The girl's head also twisted round to see the intruder, a smile still playing across her lips.

Suitably, she gasped.

Elena.

Stefan's mind wouldn't work, his mouth stayed open in shock.

Elena struggled to sit up but Damon...Damon gazed at him in contempt, getting up out of the bed and stalking towards him, he sneered "Looks like things are out in the open now, aren't they? Oops, you weren't supposed to know this way but ah well. Sooner rather than later, eh?"

Stefan stayed immobile. A voice was screaming at the back of his head, but his own still wouldn't work!

"What? Cat got your tongue? Honestly, you're so pathetic! All those months on your honeymoon you never realised where you wife's heart really lay? Me and her, we go a long way back." He turned around "Elena honey, why don't you get up and show Stefan my wedding present for you guys? It's a shame it wasn't noticeable by the time of the wedding."

Elena slowly started getting up off the bed, as if it pained her to do so, but Stefan didn't want to see her.

Deep down, he knew what he'd see.

Elena got out of the bed with the help of Damon, and stretched.

Sure enough, her tummy stuck out a mile, and Stefan swore he just saw a foot imprint from the other side.

Red. Stefan's vision was blurring. All he could see was red hot anger.

Damon stepped closer again. "You know, if it's a boy, we're going to call him Damon Saviour Salvatore. My little creature." His head turned to Elena "Our little creature."

Without rational thought, Stefan leapt forward with a terrible silent cry and flung himself at his brother.

In the struggle that followed, he could hear Elena's screams in the background, but was intent on killing his brother.

Yet he failed to notice Damon pull a stake out from nowhere and then the most unimaginable pain.

Ice filled his insides and he tumbled off his brother, falling to the floor. His back arched and he tried to scream but of course, couldn't. At the back of his mind, he knew what this was.

"Stefan! Stefan!" Stefan wanted to hold Elena, to feel her one last time, but Damon was easily holding her back.

His eyes were filled with malice, and just a tinge of red?

Stefan couldn't understand anything. Why Damon would do this...

But his breath was getting shallower and his chest was constricting. He could feel his skin hardening and his hands uselessly scrabbled against the stake embedded in his heart.

"Goodbye brother." Damon's sinister voice cut through Elena's cries like a knife. But it wasn't Damon's voice...did it sound a tad girly?

Stefan's eyes closed for the last time, tears streaking down his face.

"STEFAAN!"

* * *

xD I bet you can all guess what this is! I wanted to get the first chapter off to a banging, shocking start :D Please review :3


	2. You and Me Always

_Thank you for your reviews, I see I have you intrigued ;)  
_

_**Jess: **You will have to wait and see :D By the way, I'm working on the first chapter of your story! :)  
_

**Chapter Two:**

"Stefan!" Someone was shaking him roughly "Stefan, wake up!"

Stefan groaned at the shrill voice and tried to block it out, to no avail.

"Stefan Salvatore wake up right now."

The demanding tone made him open his eyes.

He was in his and Elena's bedroom in the new house that had been Damon's surprise wedding present to the couple. It was actually down the road from the Boarding House...

Wait. Damon's wedding present?

Stefan sat up quickly. Elena, who had been leaning over him, fell backward.

Stefan was about to apologise when something nagged at the back of his head.

Elena...What was so special about Elena, other than she was the person he loved the most in the world?

Well, apart from Damon.

So Damon and Elena were the people he loved the most...

...Damon and Elena...

_OH MY GOD - DAMON AND ELENA!_

Stefan jumped out of bed and backed into the corner of the room.

Elena sat up again and looked at him questioningly "Stefan, what's wrong?"

"You and Damon...How could you do that to me?" Stefan choked.

"What?" Elena got out of bed and crossed slowly to his side. "Stefan, you just had a bad dream, that's all..."

"NO! I caught you two together...Oh my god, your stomach!"

Elena was now visibly confused. She looked down and lifted her vest to expose a flat tummy. "What's wrong with my stomach?"

Stefan inched forward, hand outstretched, as if at any time her stomach might bulge outward. "It's...flat. But I...I saw it...and then I went mad...and...and he killed me..." Stefan whispered - it brought him too much pain to say aloud.

He looked down at his bare chest and saw no sign of a wound.

Elena tentatively placed her hands on his cheeks, kissing his lips lightly. "It's okay, you were getting very agitated when experiencing your nightmare and it must have been horrible. Do you want to talk about it?"

Stefan shuddered at the memories and shook his head quickly. "No, nothing to worry about, just a stupid dream."

He was very much aware that the last time he'd said that, it had nearly ended his existence - and Damon's free will!

"What time is it?"

Elena yawned and looked at the alarm clock "7:00am."

"Let's stay in bed for a while longer, yeah?" Elena smiled while he led her back to the bed, and they cuddled together.

"Stefan..." she whispered, her head resting on his chest.

"Yes love?"

"It'll always be you, Stefan."

His heart expanded with love, even though she had been his wife for 5 months already!

He responded with "You and me, always."

Resting now, he thought how dismissive Elena was of the nightmare.

What he had failed to tell her was that he had had it for the past week or so now. None as extreme as this one, but along the same lines.

Always another man, different each time.

And this time it had been Damon...

Stefan didn't know why he was having these nightmares, or if they meant anything (he really really hoped not - he hadn't had good experiences with these things), but the realistic image of Damon had made him long to see him again.

He had missed his brother.

* * *

See, not as bad as you thought, right? :D Please review!


	3. Too Much to Handle

_Thank you for your reviews - you make me so happy!  
_

**_Jess: _**_Please could you make an account? I'm having some trouble trying to write both stories at the same time - I obviously can't multi-task! It's just that ideas for this one are interfering with ideas for the other one, and I was hoping you could give me a more specific plan? :D And thank you for your review!_**  
**

_**DUNDUNDUN: **Thank you =D Out of curiosity, have you read 'Tough Love' first?  
_

**Chapter Three (Damon's POV):**

Damon heard knocking on the front door, but he was having such a good chat to Bonnie on the phone that he couldn't really be bothered to answer it.

Again with the knocking! Who could it be?

"I'm sorry Bonnie, but I've got to go and see who's been kind enough to pay me a visit. I bet they're not as beautiful as you! Bye for now."

Releasing the phone, Damon trudged to the front door.

Those newspaper salespeople never left him alone, they kept coming to the house, pleading for him to buy a newspaper.

He was sure they only pestered him because of his good looks, because they were always women who giggled, prodding each other.

With a bored expression, Damon opened the door and didn't hesitate to say "Listen, if you want me to jump in bed with you, why don't you just say so...?"

Standing in front of him were Stefan and Elena, staring at him with raised eyebrows.

"Oh." _Now THAT wasn't embarrassing..._

"Err, hi Damon." Stefan's voice was a little strained.

Damon's initial joy at seeing his brother gave way to partial anger.

He strode down the steps right in front of Stefan and poked him in the chest.

"I've got a bone to pick with you, brother! I gave you that house to be KIND, but it doesn't mean you don't come to SEE me, or CALL me for 5 months!"

Stefan brought his hands up in what Damon assumed was a placating gesture.

"Hey hey I'm sorry. I thought you'd like some time off from me, while being with Bonnie and stuff..."

Damon realised he had sounded a little (okay, maybe more than 'a little') possessive/overbearing and shrugged his shoulders in an attempt to appear nonchalant.

"It's just I've been bored out of my mind. No biggie. You're here now."

Turning to Elena, he bowed slightly and extended his hand "Mrs. Salvatore. Would you like to come in?"

Elena smiled at him "I'd love to." But she ignored his hand and walked in.

Damon rolled his eyes, and glancing at Stefan, remarked with a crooked grin "She's in denial."

That gained him a push, which Damon could have sworn was harder than necessary...

As Stefan walked past him up to the house, Damon caught his arm. "Stefan," he said in a softer tone "Is something wrong?"

Stefan didn't turn around, so Damon appeared in front of him. "Stefan...?"

For a moment, Stefan had a haunted look about him, then he seemed to shake it off, and grinned "I'm fine, it's just I've missed you brother."

"Awww, my lil baby bro, come here."

Damon made a move as if to hug him, and when Stefan leant in, Damon swiftly put him in a headlock and gave him a noogie.

"Arrgh Damon, stop it!"

Damon had no intention of letting go "Not until you say 'I love you dear handsome big brother, and won't leave you alone ever again'."

"Why -"

"Not letting go."

"_Fine _'I love you dear big brother, and won't leave you alone ever again."

"You forgot the 'handsome' part."

"But you're not!"

Damon rubbed a little harder.

"OKAY OKAY you're the most handsome guy I've ever met!"

Damon let go and grinned as Stefan pressed his hands to his head and glared at him, smiling just a little with exasperation "Bully."

Damon laughed and put his arm around Stefan's shoulders, pulling him into the house and shutting the door closed with his foot "Just asserting my authority."

* * *

"So Elena, what are you saying? That my brother's going mad?"

"Damon, shh!" Elena glanced around but Damon could hear Stefan in his room - sorry, _old _room - packing his things he hadn't had time to move before, into boxes.

"I'm not saying anything like that! It's just - he doesn't know this - but every night for the past week or so, I've heard him moaning in his sleep, even crying sometimes! Last night was...worse, much worse. He doesn't tell me what he dreams of, but I think it had something to do with you...and me."

Damon stopped listening to Stefan's movements and looked at Elena. "Me and you?"

Elena nodded awkwardly "Yeah...you and me...together. And he thought that I was pregnant..."

"Eww gross!" Now that was disgusting. Just the thought of doing that to Elena...Damon felt like retching.

Sure, he made plenty of jokes about that kind of thing to Stefan, but that was just to kid around.

"Damon!" Elena looked a little slightly annoyed at this direct rejection. "I don't like it any more than you do, but I don't know how to handle it anymore! He won't talk to me about it, and I was hoping you could..."

"What, torture it out of him?"

"Damon stop it, you're not funny!"

"Jeez, calm down...Fine, fine I have a plan." He motioned for Elena to open the door as he moved towards it.

"Wait, what is it?" Elena whispered.

"He's going to spend some time at home with his big brother again."

* * *

Please review? :D

By the way, the definition of a noogie: "an aggressive poke or rub with the knuckles on another's head as a gesture of affection or annoyance."

- You can decide whether it was done out of affection or annoyance. Maybe a little of both? ;)


	4. Time To Bond

_I'm not happy with this chapter :/ But I decided to update it now anyway, because I can't improve it, and I don't want you guys to wait any longer :)_

_**Jess: **Thank you for understanding! Once I finish this story, I shall work on the other one. Unless...Why don't you give it a go? I wasn't actually going to write Tough Love, I really wanted The Fictionist to do it, but she managed to persuade me to write it by myself, and look how that turned out =D So, are you sure you don't want to write it? ;)  
_

**Chapter Four:**

Stefan made his way down the stars carrying a couple of boxes stacked on top of each other, obscuring part of his view.

He wasn't worried of falling over or anything, he knew the layout of the stairs like the back of his hand.

However, he was walking slowly because it felt like he was tearing a part of himself away from his home - his _old _home, he had to keep reminding himself.

Reaching the bottom step, Stefan placed the boxes in front of the door and jumped back.

"Damon! Jeez, you almost gave me a heart attack. Why are you standing there like a statue?"

"Well...I was thinking, I want you to stay over for a few days, give your big brother a bit of company. How about it?"

Stefan blinked. "Oh. Uhh..."

He was really confused. _This has come out of nowhere..._

And then Elena walked out from behind his brother.

_...Or not._

Damon followed his line of sight, and Stefan could almost hear him curse in his head.

"What's going on..."

"Am I not allowed to spend some time with you, to bond?"

"Damon we have a whole eternity of 'bonding', you want to do it now? I have to take these stuff back to the house anyway..."

Elena interrupted "I can do that Stefan, no problem. I'm not that weak."

"But -"

"Don't you want to spend some time with me?"

Stefan gaze instantly switched to Damon at the tone of his brother's voice and caught his look "Yes - of course I do! It's just - I - I..."

Looking between the two, he knew his argument would be hopeless.

Sighing, he waved his hand "It's...nothing. Sure, I'll stay."

Walking up to Elena, he cradled her face and kissed her, almost desperately. "Be safe."

Then he picked up the boxes again and said "I'll just put these in the car for you."

Opening the door, he glanced back in time to see Elena give Damon a meaningful stare.

What the meaning was, Stefan wasn't sure - but he was determined to find out.

* * *

Please review :3 I'm sorry this chapter's short, I think I'm depressed because school starts tomorrow again :(

But I promise next chapter will be longer =)


	5. Human Blood

_**Jess**: I'm sure you can! (I had doubts of myself too! But somehow, I eventually wrote Tough Love to good standards right? It will happen to you too, trust me :) Well if you want to try it out, I'll beta read it for you, if you want :) Thanks for your review :D_

_**victoria**: Thank you for your review! It's good to see you again, and to hear you loved Tough Love x)  
_

_**DUNDUNDUN: **WOW! You're my star reviewer of the week! ;) I can't believe you read all of Tough Love in one go - and got me past the 100 Reviewers barrier too! Thank you SO much xD And I know the frustrations of waiting for the next chapter, and I try to update as soon as I can x)  
_

**Chapter Five:**

Stefan sat staring at the fridge in which the blood bags were stored in the basement. It felt like he was in a trance.**  
**

He wanted to grab all of them and drain them, but that would go against his law which he'd made for himself.

He'd banned the use of human blood completely ever since he'd married Elena. She'd wanted him to make that one promise.

But Stefan was scared. Those dreams had him on edge, day and night, and he wanted to be _prepared_.

What if they became real one day?

Then he'd hunt the man down to the ends of the earth. No one would get away from seducing his wife.

Because of course, Elena would never do that to him willingly.

"If you wanted one, you could just ask."

Stefan jumped up and spun round to see Damon casually leaning against the door frame, arms folded, expression amused.

"What, I - I wasn't doing anything. I was just..." Stefan trailed off, glancing back at the fridge again. There was that irresistible pull...

"You were just...?"

Stefan turned back around "What?"

"You didn't finish your sentence. You said 'I was just...' then trailed off looking at the human blood infested fridge."

At the words of 'human blood', Stefan's fangs wanted to expand and he could feel the skin around his eyes darken.

Rubbing his eyes, he started forward "Ahh it was nothing. I was just daydreaming."

He was hindered from leaving by Damon's hand on his chest.

"Are you sure it had nothing to do with _human blood_?"

Stefan gaped at him as, this time, his fangs expanded fully "Damon - just let me go!"

"But, don't you see? We could go hunting together; brothers united by the need for survival, even drink on the same woman?"

Stefan shook is head in disapproval (his fangs made it hard for him to speak), and shoved his brother's hand away, sidestepping past him as he went quickly up the stairs.

Maybe his brother had been deprived of company for a little TOO long?

* * *

Lying in bed, Stefan stared at the familiar woodwork of the ceiling of his room.

He tried not to think back to when he'd last been here, in his dream. Of course, the events shouldn't unfold the same way, because Elena wasn't here.

That thought still didn't stop him from having trouble falling asleep.

Straining his hearing, Stefan detected the sound of Damon's breathing, as he was sleeping.

After some time, he found himself unconsciously mirroring his brother's steady breathing, as he inhaled and exhaled.

Stefan smiled faintly as it lulled him to sleep.

* * *

Please review :)


	6. Truth Be Told

_I'm sorry I'm updating so quick, but a reviewer didn't like the shortness of the previous chapter, so I thought I'd make up for that with an extra chapter this weekend :)_**  
**

_**Jess: **Thank you for your review. Hey sorry, but I've got school so I'll only be able to update at the weekends :) Okay, when you have time, write the first chapter then send it to me on email, and I'll help you through it :) And good luck for your exams! I'm not sure how to not make a cliffhanger, it seems like the only thing I can do :P  
_

**Chapter Six (Damon's POV):**

Damon wasn't sure what had woken him up. He tried to listen out for any burglars, but couldn't hear any.

Settling back into bed, he thought of the past events of that day.

He knew he would always have been successful in getting Stefan to stay, but when Elena came out from behind him, he had had to restrain himself from giving her a death glare.

Much as he was reluctant to admit it, his brother wasn't stupid - he had known instantly something was up.

Now Damon would just have to be even more subtle at finding out what was wrong.

'Subtle' wasn't exactly his middle name...

But there was seriously something weird about Stefan... What was up with him in the basement?

He was supposed to have controlled his lust for human blood, so when Damon had mentioned it, why did Stefan seem to be on the edge?

Damon sighed and rolled over onto his side.

Okay, maybe he had been a bit mean, trying to get Stefan to give in to his urge, but it wasn't fair.

Just because his wife didn't like the idea of her beloved husband's lips tinged with another girl's blood, it didn't mean he'd had to make a stupid promise.

Truth be told - and Damon tried to convince himself that he was lying - he had missed his brother more than he would admit to anyone.

Then he heard the sound of moaning, and someone - or something - thrashing around.

After the first few seconds of alarm, he realised the noises were coming from Stefan's room, and his muscles relaxed from their tensed state.

_Huh...so this is what Elena was going on about..._

Trying to muffle out the noises, he covered his head with a pillow. It didn't work.

_Man, _he really hated heightened vampire senses sometimes...

He tried another pillow. It still didn't work.

Sitting up, he decided the best thing to do would be to check it out.

_But then Stefan might get annoyed at the intrusion..._

A few seconds of deliberating went by, until he flitted to Stefan's room.

_...Since when did I care?_

Seeing Stefan struggling in his bed, twisting his covers, Damon instantly appeared at his side, and lightly shook Stefan's shoulder.

"Stefan, wake up."

Stefan started muttering in his sleep "No...don't take...her. NO! Who are you? Show yourself!"

Stefan started to get more agitated, and Damon had to put both hands on his chest, restraining him from doing any harm to himself or his surroundings.

"Stefan, shh shh, it's okay..."

Still, Stefan didn't wake, but he grew noticeably calmer and he stopped talking.

After a couple of jerky movements, Stefan's head lolled to the side, and his breathing subsided to normal.

Damon removed his hands and stepped back, shocked.

_Wow._

When Elena had said she'd been having trouble, Damon hadn't really thought there could be anything _that _bad.

She tended to be a little melodramatic.

Returning to his room, Damon lay back down on his bed.

_Now let's see if my brother will let me catch ANY sleep tonight..._

For the rest of the night though, his ears were unconsciously alert for any sounds of distress from Stefan's room.

* * *

Please review :)


	7. Real Smooth

_For future apologies, I'm sorry if my chapters (including this one) are too short for anyone's liking, but it's how I write :)_

**_Jess: _**_Haha thank you for your review :D_**  
**

_**Victoria: **Hey again! :) Thank you for your review - I'm glad you think that! :)  
_

**Chapter Seven (Damon's POV):**

Sitting in the kitchen, Damon drummed his fingers on the table, trying to figure out a way to approach the subject.

How the hell should he start?

How was he going to explain to Stefan that he'd heard the mumbling - more like shrieking - in his sleep?

That would imply Damon had been in his room, which would imply that Damon actually cared enough to go and find out Stefan's problem, which was not what Damon would initially do.

If Elena hadn't told him anything, he would have left Stefan alone for a few days, even weeks, to see if the problem was serious.

Then, after admitting to himself that his brother couldn't cope by himself, he would become the saviour and right all that was wrong.

Well...it didn't always work that way...but Damon could fantasise. He really wasn't going to show his epic big brotherly emotions over nothing!

Hearing his brother come clattering down the stairs, Damon quickly put the kettle on and settled back in his seat.

Stefan came into view looking like hell with black shadows under his eyes and his hair sticking up, looking very much like mini devil horns.

He didn't even seem to notice Damon as he got a bottle of animal blood from the fridge (Damon constantly stocked up in case his brother would arrive unexpectedly).

"Morning Stefan!"

Stefan dropped the bottle but quickly caught it before it hit the ground as he faced Damon. "Hey Damon, um...how was your sleep?"

_Perfect opening - Thank you, Stefan!_

"Well, now you mention it, mine was excellent. But yours wasn't, was it..."

Stefan's posture straightened and he looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights "What - Yes it was!"

"It was?" Damon had expected it to come easily. Okay, maybe a bit stupidly, because this was _Stefan _but he was still unprepared.

"What makes you think I had trouble sleeping?" For some reason, Damon could see Stefan becoming a little agitated, but he hid it well under a façade of calm defined throughout the centuries.

_Oh, I don't know...maybe because YOU WOKE ME UP?_

But of course Damon didn't mention that. Instead he racked his brains for an answer.

"Well, err, nothing. I just...err..." _Come on Damon, where's your usual smooth witty recovery!_

"Right...well I have to go...phone Elena, bye." Stefan swiftly stood up and backed out the room.

"WAIT,I made some coffee for you!"

There was no answer...

"Does dead flesh good!"

* * *

Please review :)

By the way, I wrote a Stefan/Damon one-shot for Season 2 Episode 1 - It's called 'Always Stefan' if you wanna read it :) - Thank you to Jess for reading and reviewing it :D

ALSO, my updating for this story might be a little slower in the following couple of weeks, because I think I'm coming to writer's block :O

But don't worry, this happened for 'Tough Love' and I still finished it in less than a year didn't I? ;)


	8. Crazy

_I'm baaaaack! xD I feel like I'm on the mend :) For some reason, I have so many ideas for one-shots from various episodes throughout the series, they're crowding my head when I should be thinking about this story, but I think I'm getting back on track!  
_

_Thank you for all your support!  
_

_**Jess: **Thanks for your review! Oooh so THAT's how you know about my stories, seeing as they're always either Stefan&Damon or Stefan&Elena :P I'm obsessed with Stefan too x) Don't worry, I love your reviews how they are, especially for 'The Priority' xD  
_

_**victoria: **I will try to, I promise! Thank you for your review :)  
_

**Chapter Eight:**

It had already been almost a week since Stefan had stayed at the Boarding House, but nothing had changed.

His nightmares still consisted of a guy taking Elena away from him, but the man's back was always to Stefan (except for the dream with Damon, which had been an anomaly).

If only Stefan could find out who the person was...

He wouldn't do anything rash, just make sure that if he ever saw the guy around town, he would be prepared.

A more pressing matter though, was his brother.

The first few days Stefan went down for breakfast, Damon would cheerily ask 'Good morning, how was your sleep?' and Stefan would reply with 'fine'.

However, as the days wore on, Damon had gotten moodier and moodier, now getting straight to it and asking 'Anything wrong with your sleep?', which Stefan found creepy.

Stefan now knew that he was only here because Elena had told Damon of his troubling dreams.

The constant 'looks' he had been getting were becoming increasingly irritating.

His brother did 'awesome', 'annoying', 'angry', 'sarcastic', 'Damon humour' and 'impatient' brilliantly.

The 'loving' side of him? He did not show so well.

It was starting to become smothering - the constant affection.

Crazy as it may seem, Stefan wanted his brother to not give a damn again (if he ever really didn't), because then he would be able to sort the stuff in his head out by himself, without Damon trying to peer in to confirm his sanity (or insanity).

Now, Stefan did everything possible not to cross paths more than necessary with Damon.

If his brother wasn't trying to interrogate him about his dreams, he was trying to persuade him to drink human blood.

This, including his already tense state as an aftermath of his dreams, was enough to make Stefan feel he was going mad.

After rushing to his room post-dinner (of home-made steak - extremely rare), and doing all he could do to stay awake (and failing), Stefan began to dream.

* * *

_"Elena? Where are you honey?" Stefan searched for her in the Mystic Grill bar area, but couldn't find her._

_He was sure he'd just been gone for a minute or two..._

_Turning 180°, he caught sight of her at the pool table, holding out a cue towards him and smiling seductively._

_He sighed with relief and started forward, only to stop short when a darker figure cut in front and took the offered cue, also cradling Elena's face in his spare hand and leaning in for a kiss._

_As he did so, their upper bodies twisted and Stefan caught a full glimpse of the intruder's face._

* * *

"Gah!" Stefan shot upright, shivers breaking throughout his body.

It was him...

HIM!

But it couldn't be...He hadn't seen him since the day before his wedding...

Why would he try to take Elena?

They were supposed to be friends!

_This isn't right_...Stefan got out of bed and started pacing. _Nothing makes sense!_ Then he froze._  
_

But...hadn't he liked Elena from the first time they met?

Damon had said even a blind man could see it.

He'd also said that kitsunes could never be trusted.

Because that's what he was.

Stefan's vampire-turned-kitsune friend:

Peter.

* * *

So how's that for a comeback? Please review! xD

You're gonna get a flashback to when Damon and Stefan were little next chapter! :)


	9. The Big Bad Monsters

_**Jess: **Thanks for your review :) Well, book 4 of the original books is the best in my opinion, because Elena isn't even there (sorry for the Spoiler Alert!) and Damon does some amazing things for Stefan! x) but I don't like 'The Return' books (even though I've only read the first one) because Damon is way too mean in them! :( I think I prefer the Tv Vampire Diaries universe, but don't get me wrong, the first 4 books are amazing! xD_

_**Victoria: **Thank you for your review, yes Stefan is amazing! xD  
_

**Chapter Nine (Damon's POV):**

Right that was it, Damon had had enough. He was getting the truth out of Stefan, one way or another.

_What, torture it out of him? - _His misunderstanding of what Elena had wanted him to do seemed perfectly reasonable now, he only half-joked to himself.

He thought back to how easy it had been in the past, when Stefan used to have trouble with nightmares at his tender age.

* * *

**1855 - Stefan: 6 Damon: 13**

"Damon, stop!" Stefan squealed while trying to get away from Damon's reaching hands.

"Rooaarrrr, I'm a big bad monster!" Damon succeeded in grabbing Stefan's arms and giving him a massive bear hug.

He could feel the boy struggle to keep in his laughter and try to escape, even though Damon was much stronger.

"Damy!"

Damon inwardly grinned at the nickname Stefan had appointed him and suddenly let him go.

Instead of leaning into him as Damon had expected, Stefan tumbled to the ground in a heap of arms and legs.

Sighing, Damon looked at his expensive pocket watch, which had been a birthday present from his uncle.

"Bedtime now, brother."

Instantly Damon detected a change in Stefan's demeanour, from an excited-tense to a scared-tense.

"Stefan, what's wrong...?"

Stefan turned his face away and his words were muffled against his arm, shielding his face "I don't want to sleep Damy, bad things come out at night."

Damon reached for Stefan but his little brother curled himself tight into a little ball.

"Aww come on Stef, tell me what kind of stuff comes out..."

Stefan whimpered and shook his head.

Damon knelt down and ruffled his brother's hair lightly.

"You know you can tell me anything, right?"

Stefan raised his head and stared at Damon.

"Can I trust you not to tell papa?"

"Yes you can. You know that little brother." That answer brooked no argument.

Stefan's tense state relaxed and he was all of a sudden a bundle wrapped around Damon's mid-riff.

"It's the demons, brother! They - they come out at night and - and don't leave me alone...They don't let me sleep Damy, and I'm scared - so much."

Oh sweet Jesus, tears began to fall down his brother's face.

"Hey Stef - _Stefan _- Look at me. First of all, demons are only what you make them out to be. They are your nightmares. There are no such things as real scary monsters, except maybe our father." Damon half-smiled at his joke.

Stefan may get scared of their father, but he didn't frighten Damon.

"Yes but - "

Damon took Stefan's head between his hands so that he couldn't look away from his eyes.

"Have I ever lied to you before?"

"N - No."

"So believe me now. No one will touch you while I am with you. And I will always be with you - protecting you, if not in body, then in here."

Damon pointed towards his little brother's heart.

Stefan looked down and wrapped himself around Damon once again, more content.

"I love you Damy."

"Love you too Stef."

* * *

**Present Day:**

Damon smiled to himself at the memory.

Why couldn't things be as simple as they were then? When their father was the only monster the Salvatore brothers knew about?

He was so caught up in the memory that he almost missed Stefan zoom in and out.

"Hey - Stefan!"

There was no sign that he was going to stop so Damon worked on driving impulse and lunged forward, shoving Stefan in the back, so he was against the wall.

"Listen to me now brother, I'm not going to let you go until you admit there's something wrong."

Stefan began wildly struggling, but Damon steadfastly held on. "I mean it, Stefan. And you know I'm as much stronger than you as you are stronger than humans."

"No let me go!" Stefan was hysterical, using all his energy to try and escape from Damon's grasp.

"Stefan, please, just tell me what the hell is wrong with you!"

"IT'S PETER - HE'S GOING TO STEAL ELENA FROM ME!"

_Woah...Since when did Stefan have such jealousy issues?_

_And why would he think Peter would come back to Mystic Falls?_

Nothing had been heard from him since he left before the wedding on 'business', and Damon had presumed that he would disappear.

Obviously not.

It took Damon a couple of seconds to realise that Stefan was no longer being aggressive.

Instead, it seemed as if he was - no, this couldn't be true, yet it was - _crying_.

Damon instantly let go of Stefan and backed up. Stefan didn't turn around, only leant his forehead against the wall as he silently cried.

"Umm Stefan...err it's okay, it's okay."

Stefan didn't respond and Damon was at a loss for what to do until Stefan spoke up. "Just...go please, Damon..."

This made Damon angry. "No, you know what Stefan? I'm not going to go. Not this time. Why are you so worked up? You had a dream, so what? It's not as if - "

"It's because I think I'm going MAD! I'm...I'm being driven insane. He's taunting me...I can't stand it anymore!"

Stefan's silent cries turned to sobs, and he fell to his knees.

Okay, Damon knew he was emotionally stunted most of the time, but this didn't mean he was going to leave his brother when he was like this...

Kneeling slowly next to Stefan, he brought his arms round him and held him tight. "You are not going insane, and no one's taking Elena. Believe me brother, everything will be all right. I will help you through this."

He must have stunned his brother to submission, because he felt Stefan's arms wrap themselves around him without a second thought.

It was like 1855 all over again.

* * *

Wow, it doesn't feel like I've had writer's block at all :P Reviews appreciated! xD

By the way, I have found this AMAZING Stefan/Damon video on youtube, you've gotta check it out!

Just type 'How to Save A Life - Stefan & Damon' in youtube and it's the first link by adelicatetear =)

I don't normally watch fan made vids, because I usually find them boring, but this one's truly amazing! Tell me what you think of it please :)


	10. The Phone Call

_Thank you for all your reviews! Wow, you really know how to make a writer smile :)_

**_Jess:_**_ Oh no, you should definitely read the 1st four original books! They have amazing Stefan/Damon in them (especially the last one) and Stelena is all the way! (Except for a bit of a hiccup at the beginning of book 3) Please please read them! Then we can talk about them :) Thanks for your review! You're just gonna have to wait and find out ;)_

_**victoria: **We never get a flashback in the books, only to when Katherine is with them, which is a shame, but I like to think he would totally have called him that when they were little :) Thanks for your review - I'm glad you liked the video!  
_

**Chapter Ten:**

Stefan didn't know how long they sat there, and he sure as hell didn't know what he was blabbering on about.

All the tension of the past few weeks came pouring out with his tears and words, and he knew Damon had a hard time catching any sentences that made any sense too.

But still his brother sat with him and reassured him that he was not insane, that everything was going to be all right, that there must be a logical reason to this.

"Okay, let's try and work this out."

The brothers were now sitting on separate sofas in the living room, the moment of mania in the corridor having passed.

Stefan was embarassed that Damon had seen him act like a small child, but amazed that his brother had not made one snide remark about it at all.

It was officially a 'brotherly bonding' moment. He knew it, and he was sure Damon knew it.

There was no turning back now.

"Earth to Stefan. Hellooo, anyone in there?"

Stefan jumped out of his reverie and saw Damon give him an exasperated glance.

"Sorry!"

"So what do you think of my amazing plan?"

Stefan blinked a couple of times.

"Uhh...what were you saying?"

"Stefaan, jeez are you having dreams in the day now too?"

Stefan glared at him.

"Sorry sorry, low blow. Anyway,what I was saying was, you have Peter's mobile number - although I couldn't understand at the time why you would want to keep in touch with the guy - so just phone him."

Stefan waited for some kind of continuation, but none came.

"_That's _your amazing plan? 'Just phone him'?"

Damon rolled his eyes. "Come on Stefan, you're not dumb, well, not completely because we're blood related, so you can't be. Pick up the phone, talk to him: find out what he's up to, if he's going to come back to Mystic Falls etc etc."

That was a pretty simple plan. Stefan wished he'd thought of it sooner.

"Uh huh, I'll do that now."

Stefan got up to go but Damon stopped him with an outstretched hand.

"One more thing. This has nothing to do with saving Elena, protecting Elena, all things Elena, but why don't you drink her blood anymore?"

Stefan rubbed his eyes. He knew something like this would pop up sooner or later, but now?

"Damon, I'm sure you've thought a lot about it with others you drink. She's human, I'm not. No matter how accepting she is of my dead - undead - life, it's not _normal _for her."

"She let you drink off her before..."

"That's when I was still recuperating from Mitsao's attack. Your blood - believe it or not - had me in a frenzy after it healed all my wounds, and I needed to get back into shape before continuing my wildlife lifestyle."

"So why don't you carry on?"

"It's not the same as with your girls, Damon. I can't just compel her to be okay with it all."

"Yes you can, just rip that stupid necklace off her neck."

"Damon..."

"No, I'm being serious. Don't you know that any vampire can take it off her in the blink of an eye and compel her, so you may as well do it yourself."

"Nope, I'm fine with going back to bunny blood anyway. It's not like the earlier years when I couldn't control it. Look, can we just call Peter now?"

"All right, I'm just concerned for your well being, that's all." The way he said it was so casual, it seemed like he was concerned every day. "So do you have your phone?"

"Yeah I'll get it."

Stefan got his phone from his room and went back downstairs, holding it out to his brother.

Damon raised his eyebrows.

"What do you want me to do with it?"

"Can you phone him for me?"

"Why - "

"Please?"

Stefan felt Damon's intense stare on him, but he kept his gaze on his phone.

This was one thing he could not do.

He heard Damon sigh and collect the phone.

"While I talk to the guy, why don't you phone Elena, see how she is?"

Stefan nodded and went to the house phone.

He had been checking up on Elena every day he'd been staying here, and she seemed to be fine. Missing him like hell, but fine.

He dialled the number of his and Elena's house and waited for her to pick up.

He was eternally grateful to Bonnie for staying in the house with his wife, while he was with Damon.

If Elena needed any other protection other than a vampire husband, a witch best friend was the next best thing.

"Hello?"

Stefan sat up straighter.

"Elena, hey, how are you?"

"Stefan? Hi honey, I'm great as always, you? How's it going?"

"I'm fine thanks, I'm having daily rigorous interrogations by General Damon."

Elena laughed. Stefan had said it in a light way, a smile working its way onto his face.

"Is it working?"

"Uhh yeah, I think so."

Stefan really wanted to eavesdrop on Damon's conversation with Peter, but couldn't bring himself to.

"Okay honey, well I'm waiting for you here when you think you're ready. Don't tell anyone but," she put on a mock whisper voice "I like your company better than Bonnie's."

Stefan laughed "Yeah well I don't think Damon shares the same feeling as you."

"Really, how'd you know that? Can you read minds now?"

A different voice had answered him. Stefan whipped round and dropped the phone.

Damon was standing behind him, expressionless.

"Stefan? Hello? What's the matter?"

Stefan hurriedly picked the phone up again.

"No - nothing. Look I've got to go now, but I'll see you soon, I promise. Send my love to Bonnie too."

"Okay, bye Stefan."

Stefan put the phone down carefully, trying to stop the tremors in his hand.

Turning back round, he saw Damon's face still betrayed no emotion.

A few seconds passed.

Stefan broke the silence. "So? Did you talk to him? Where is he?"

Damon continued looking at him. Finally he opened his mouth. "Stefan..."

Stefan's heart stopped.

Then Damon broke into a grin. "He's nowhere near here, actually he's in Florida to be exact. And I made sure that he'd never return."

"What did you say to him?"

"Never mind that, your wife's safe, my friend."

So many emotions coursed through Stefan's veins.

Joy - that Elena was safe, gratefulness - for Damon's help, annoyance - that Damon had taken so long to tell him the news.

Finally joy broke through.

"Oh my god, thank god, thank you Damon."

He just stopped himself from jumping up and down.

"Anytime brother, now you can get out of my hair again. You were right earlier, you're a nuisance, I definitely prefer Bonnie's company."

But Damon was grinning and clapped him on the back.

Stefan stretched, feeling all his tense muscles pop.

Finally, he could relax again.

* * *

Peter put down the phone and shivered.

He couldn't understand why he had the urge to do these irrational things.

Like lie to Damon Salvatore, Stefan's brother.

Like buy this house, opposite Stefan's new house.

Like spy on Elena Salvatore, Stefan's wife.

* * *

Oooh cool ending to the chapter, don't ya think? ;D Please review!

A/N: Don't you think Elena's necklace is a bit ridiculous, especially in the first 2 seasons? Any vampire could literally just rip it off her, like Elijah did in season 2, and compel her...Am I the only one thinking this?


	11. No Need to Worry

_I am really sorry this hasn't been updated for what seems like ages, but it is the holiday and I've been working on my mini-story for Damon/Stefan and I got my AS results yesterday which I'm quite happy about but I'm now back in England (because I was in Cyprus for almost a month), so I assure you, updates will happen more regularly!_

_Thank you for all your patience and reviews! :D_

_Does everyone hate my cliffhangers? I thought they added suspense and a good ending so for the next chapter you're like 'ooh what's going to happen?'._

_I can try to stop them if you want, but to be honest, I'm not really sure how. I go with the flow, you see :P  
_

_**Victoria**: I wish that happened too :) Thank you for your review!_

_**Jess: **Oooh have you read them yet? Pleeeeeaseeee tell me when you have! :D There are 4 original ones (which are the best). The 'Return' books are not so great if you love Damon/Stefan brotherly love. Lol yeah the writers had no sense but you're right, they did need to have the full impact of Stefan drinking from her! i have updated now,  
_

**Chapter Eleven:**

Stefan was getting things ready to leave when his brother came up to his room.

"I think you should stay one more day, to see if you stop getting those dreams."

"Damon, seriously?"

"Well, have you stopped getting them? The whole point of your stay was because Elena couldn't handle your distress in the night, it prevented her from having peachy dreams so..."

Damon trailed off and glanced at him sheepishly. Well, as much as he could manage. "You never talked about that with her, did you?"

Stefan glared at him.

"Oops, well I'm sure it'll come up now." He started to back out of the room.

"Wait, Elena was having trouble sleeping because of me?"

"I think you should talk to her about it tomorrow. Now, what do you want to do?"

Stefan threw his things on his bed in resignation.

"I don't know Damon, you're the boss, what do _you _want to do?"

"Well…we could always continue the training that we stopped so many months ago?"

"You're not being serious…"

"Why not?"

"Well, a) we don't have a control freak girlfriend on our hands, and b) I'm going back tomorrow so…"

"For a), I'm not so sure, one of us still does, and b) so what? It's not as if you're not going to visit me at least once a week."

Stefan hesitated. He was ashamed to say that when he was at home with Elena, it was so easy to not want to leave the house.

But from Damon's tone, Stefan knew his brother was expecting only one answer.

"Sure I will Damon, don't worry about it!" Stefan clapped him on the back.

Damon scoffed "I wasn't worrying."

Stefan grinned. "Yeah, you were."

"No I wasn't!"

"Aww don't worry Damon, I won't tell anyone. I won't ruin your reputation."

"Stefan…"

"Yes, my not-so-worried brother?"

"How about we start your training now?"

Stefan caught Damon's deadly smile and became worried for himself.

* * *

"Argh Damon, this was _not _what we were doing before!"

Stefan was rubbing his arm where Damon had just twisted it a second before, with ferocious intensity.

They were, as usual, in the back garden, and Stefan was facing his brother in a tense stance.

In their training before, Damon had been trying to develop Stefan's awareness skills by creeping up at him from all sides.

Now, Damon was trying to develop his strength skills. Which was fun for Damon...not so fun for Stefan.

"What's the matter brother, are you worried?"

Stefan rolled his eyes.

It had just been a joke! Yet he should have known his brother took digs on his behalf seriously.

"Let's do it again then."

"No I really don't think - arrgh!"

Stefan landed with a thump on the grass. Damon had swept his feet out from under him while he was still talking!

Groaning, Stefan got back up and wiped the dirt off his jeans, only to be knocked down again.

This was going to be a long day.

* * *

Please review! I hope you're happy with it :)


	12. The Ticking of the Clock

_Thank you all for reading and reviewing this and not giving up with this story! xD_

_**victoria**: Thanks for your review :D Although I don't watch Supernatural, other people have told me that too :)_**  
**

_**EvaMedina**: Thank you :D_

_**Jess**: Haha xD I'm sorry I've been unstable because of 'Take Me in Your Arms' :P Lol, well there's no rush :) Thank you for your understanding and review! xD_

_Enjoy!_

**Chapter Twelve:**

Stefan woke the morning after with the remnants of bruising he had acquired from Damon's training session last night.

Groaning, he got up and went downstairs to the kitchen.

As had become customary, Damon was already sitting at the table, waiting for him.

"Good sleep, brother?"

"Apart from my _bruises" _at which Damon smirked "surprisingly...yes. I slept all the way through without dreaming at all."

"Good! Then I declare you successfully cured. I _would _recommend you stay one more night - just to be certain - but I'm sure that would be pushing it..."

Stefan sighed and sat opposite his brother. "Elena's expecting me today, I told her yesterday."

"Yeah well I'm expecting Bonnie over - I promised I'd rustle up a delicious lunch for her - so you should leave soon."

"Got it, I'll just get my stuff ready, then I'll go."

He was about to go back upstairs when Damon shot in front of him. "Don't hesitate to come to me if there's any chance you're going mad again, okay?"

Stefan frowned. "Hey, I wasn't _mad_..."

"You should have seen yourself. _Totally _mad...It makes me wonder how the hell you became the _usually _reserved, quiet brother."

"As opposed to being the loud, reckless, love-for-danger one?"

Damon shrugged. "Hey I'm just saying, I'm the one who has all the fun. You need to lighten up, my brother."

Stefan rolled his eyes and smiled as Damon clapped him on the shoulder and walked away.

It seemed that now the risk Stefan was being tormented by Peter was low, Damon could go back to his making-fun-of-his-brother-and-getting-away-with-it personality.

* * *

Stefan drove past the high street and decided to stop off to get his wife some flowers, to make up for being absent for so long.

While in the queue, he met Caroline (who he hadn't seen for ages), who struck up a conversation that lasted at least an hour, so by the time he arrived home, it was midday.

Seeing her car in the driveway, he grinned and hid the flowers behind his back while opening and walking through the front door.

"Elena, love?"

No one answered.

Walking into the kitchen, ready to spring out on his unsuspecting wife, he froze.

The kitchen was a mess.

Chairs had been turned over, cutlery strewn all over the floor, even his favourite Pinocchio clock, which used to hang on the wall above the oven, had fallen and broken into tiny pieces.

Beginning to hyperventilate, he quickly searched all rooms, finding them in comfortable conditions.

But no sign of Elena.

Frantically dialling her number on his phone, he groaned when he followed the ringtone to their bedroom, where the phone was on her bedside table.

"ELENA?" he shouted, in the vain hope she was hiding somewhere. "ELENA! It's Stefan!"

No answer.

No no no no no!

This couldn't be happening.

Stefan fell to his knees, dug his hands through his hair and let out a loud, deep cry.

After a few minutes of unwavering despair, he finally felt in control of his mind.

And his first thought was: he needed his big brother again.

* * *

Please review :)


	13. No Rest for the Wicked

_Remember my story is a combination of the Books and The Show so, for example, Bonnie has red curly hair :)_

_Love all your reviews :)_

_**EvaMedina: **LOL xD Thanks for your review :)  
_

_**victoria: **Thanks :) So, two brothers like Damon and Stefan? __Ooh I want to watch it now _;)  


_**Jess: **Loool haha well here it is now! xD Thanks for your review, haha I can imagine that :)  
_

_Enjoy!_

**Chapter Thirteen (Damon's POV):**

Damon welcomed Bonnie into his house and instantly started kissing her. She had been away too long, because of his brother.

Not that he was grudging his brother, it was just that he had actually missed her.

Bonnie kissed him back, then broke apart. "So I take it Stefan's all right?"

"Yes, well I hope so. Thank you for staying with Elena, I know he's really grateful."

"That's okay, I'd do anything to help friends out. Especially this friend."

"Ooh Bonnie, am I just a friend?"

"Hmm - "

Damon kissed her on her cheek.

"I suppose - "

Damon kissed her on her neck. He could feel her begin to get flustered, as she always did when she was intimate with him, like she was going to get caught doing something she shouldn't.

He knew it was because of her lack of boyfriends, seeing as she was really shy - and the fact that he was a vampire.

He thought she looked absolutely beautiful with her open, innocent face, and it was adorable when she blushed.

"Damon, you are more than just a friend." She whispered.

"I thought so." he murmured, then kissed her properly.

He had never known anything like this feeling.

Sure, when he had been human, Katherine had seemed like the 'it' girl, but how could she have been, when she had been stringing his brother along at the same time?

Since he'd been a vampire, he'd only looked at girls as food, nothing more. When he had sex with them, it was usually a one night stand.

Until he met Bonnie. And then it just clicked.

She had a sparkling energy quite different to Elena's personal fire.

She was unique in her own ways and really brought out a side of him he hadn't known he had.

The sweet, gentle, loving side.

Which was why he was more than faintly annoyed that his phone was ruining the perfect moment.

Bonnie pulled back once again. "You should really get that."

Damon sighed and whined "But I don't want to."

"It could be important."

"All right Bonnie, who's the guy?"

"What?"

"You want me out the way so you can chat to your secret boyfriend."

"Damon!"

Damon got up and grinned "Only joking!"

Picking up his phone on the last ring, he saw Stefan's number.

"Hey Stefan, what's up? I thought you'd be sick of me by now."

"Damon oh my god Elena's gone the kitchen's a mess I can't find her it's Peter I'm sure of it I - "

"Stefan, slow down! I can't understand a word you're saying!"

"IT'S ELENA! SHE'S BEEN KIDNAPPED!"

"What? That isn't possible! Who took her?"

"I think we both know the answer to that! Oh my god Damon, I - I can't stand this, I need to find her, I can't believe I left her - "

From the other end Damon could hear sobbing and remembered only too well what it had been like a couple of days ago to watch his brother break down.

Never. Again.

"Listen Stefan, it's okay - I'll get Bonnie here to track her, okay? I'll call you when we have a signal."

"Can - Can I come over? It's so empty here, I feel alone..."

"Of course you can. Come right over."

Damon put down the phone and took a moment to breathe in deeply.

The next few hours were going to be a rocky ride.

* * *

Getting back to Bonnie he filled her in.

"Oh no! But everything was fine when I stayed with her! I should have stuck with her until Stefan returned home."

"Hey, don't blame yourself. We had a date! Which lasted 10 minutes. Congratulations to us."

Bonnie slapped him playfully on the shoulder. "Well I need something personal of Elena's to be able to track her."

Damon shrugged. "I don't have - "

A sudden rush of wind startled both of them as Stefan appeared and began speaking in a rush "Hey I'm here, have you found her? Where is she? Is she okay?"

Damon frowned at this sudden intrusion (there _was _a door), but decided to let it go.

"We need something of Elena's to complete the tracking spell."

"Oh I have her phone!" Stefan dug into his hoody pocket and gave Elena's phone to Bonnie, who placed it on an atlas.

She closed her eyes and concentrated hard for a minute, until the phone began to slide to a point on the map, and stand upright exactly on the place.

Damon leant over Bonnie and studied the area. "Georgia." He called over his shoulder.

"Georgia?" Stefan repeated. "Why there?"

"I don't know...Dilapidated workhouses, plenty of bars: perfect for a kitsune to kidnap a girl, then drink to it."

"Right, I'm gone, Damon can I use your car?"

"What's wrong with yours?"

"Yours is faster."

"There's no way you're going in my car - " Stefan opened his mouth in protest " - unless I'm coming with you."

Stefan frowned. "But it'll be dangerous Damon, I can't be worried for you too."

"Yeah well I'm worried for the brand new paint job I did on the car, and I'll do my upmost to protect it, so hurry up and let's get going."

Stefan was already out the door when Damon gave Bonnie a quick kiss.

"But I want to come too!"

"Absolutely not. You're a young girl Bonnie, you've got your whole life ahead of you..."

"Hold on, you are coming back!"

Damon rolled his eyes. "Of course we are, that's just the speech I make to everyone who I don't want following me to dangerous places. Unfortunately it doesn't work on Stefan anymore, seeing as he's _technically _not that young. But everyone else ignores me often, and it ends badly for them. Leave this stuff to the vamps, yeah?"

Bonnie nodded and clutched him for a second longer, before letting him go.

Damon grinned and walked out the house, calling over his shoulder.

"I'll be back before you know it!"

* * *

Famous last words? ;) Please review! :)


	14. Too Much Information

_I am SO sorry for not updating for AGES but I've had a troubling start to my Upper Sixth year and my life's been hectic with personal problems, but I'm back! I just need to tell you that updates will be irregular (for this story and Take Me in Your Arms) but I'm steadily coming back, so please don't give up on these stories (and new ones will appear later in the year)!_**  
**

_**victoria**: Thank you thank you thank you xD I am so grateful that you have been constantly checking my stories for updates, that level of enthusiasm has made me smile through troubling times, and I'm upset for letting you down by not updating before! Hope you like this chapter!  
_

_**EvaMedina**: I'm definitely a Bamon fan too :D Thank you for your review! xD  
_

_**Jess**: Thank you so much for your review! I hope you stick with this story even though my updates are so irregular :) I loved your review, even though I got a little confused at the end lol :P  
_

_ENJOY!  
_

**Chapter Fourteen:**

Damon drove recklessly, as always. Stefan couldn't believe it - Damon didn't want _him _to ruin the paintwork, yet there was more a chance of Damon damaging the whole _car _rather than just the paintwork.

Typical.

There was an uneasy silence during the journey, as Stefan was doing everything he could to not go mad, and Damon didn't know what to say to comfort him.

Finally, after a couple of hours, they entered Georgia and Stefan noticed the pace started slowing.

"Why are you slowing down? Do you know where she is?!"

"Nope, but I know a witch who owns a bar, who so happens to know everyone and everything that goes on around here. How much do you want to bet that she knows the exact whereabouts of your girl?"

"My life." Stefan muttered, and went back to staring sullenly out of the window.

Damon soon pulled up at a little bar off the highway.

"We're here."

Stefan was out before Damon had even stopped the car.

"Slow down, Stefan. She has to see me first otherwise she'll blast us to bits as soon as we enter the bar. Most vampires are not welcome here."

"So why are you?"

Damon smirked "I may have met her while I was trying out university."

Stefan stared, incredulous. "You tried out uni?"

Damon hurried on ahead. "Once or twice."

Wow, Stefan was surprised. His brother had actually liked to have a degree - seeing as when he was human, he had been drafted into the war from the age of 18.

Following Damon to the bar entrance, he entered.

It was fairly busy, with a young - middle aged barmaid lounging around.

Well, she was lounging around until she caught the scent, unmistakeable of a vampire.

Her head snapped to the door, and her expression lit up as soon as she saw Damon.

"Damon, honey, what a surprise!"

Damon grinned "Hello Bree."

Her eyes shifted towards Stefan. "This must be your brother." He smiled and waved awkwardly.

Damon looked a little put out. "I thought you were happy to see _me_."

"Of course not." She laughed and drew him in, and they began kissing passionately.

Stefan stood there, eyes wide, and expected them to stop any time soon.

When they didn't, he tried clearing his throat loudly, which didn't work, so he trudged towards the bar and sat on a tool, prepared to wait it out.

Finally, Damon and Bree disentangled themselves, and he went to sit next to his brother, while Bree walked round the other side of the bar.

"So, what brings you guys over to Georgia?"

Damon inclined his head towards Stefan. "Missing girlfriend."

"Ahh. Not yours, I see."

"Nope, mine is safely back at home."

"Ooh, so you've finally settled down long enough to have a long-term girlfriend?"

"You're not still mad at me for leaving you, are you? Someone was going to notice their student wasn't ageing, sooner or later."

Bree laughed. "I got over that dear. There are many more pleasures in the world other than dating a vampire, you know."

She looked at Stefan. "I guess your 'girlfriend' figured that out."

Stefan frowned. "She didn't run away from me! She's been kidnapped!"

"They all say that, then she'll probably turn up dead with _mysterious_ bite marks on her neck by an angry vampire ex-boyfriend..."

"How dare you - "

Stefan was about to spring up when Damon put a restraining hand on his arm.

"Stefan!" He hissed. "Calm down. She's a _witch _remember, bound to hate vampires in general."

Stefan switched his gaze from his brother back to Bree, and noticed the suspicion behind her eyes.

Damon turned back to Bree and put on his sucking-up voice. "Breeee, you know me and - "

"Yes, I do know you. And I know that you can leave a trail of bodies all around the country."

"But I'm different now...just ask my girlfriend. She's a Bennett descendant, you know."

Bree's eyes widened. "A Bennett witch, really?"

"Yup. BFFs with the missing gf. Desperately wants us to find her, somewhere around here."

"I guess I can help you then. Give me a minute to track her."

"Take as much time as you need. We're patient people."

Bree rolled her eyes, turned, and walked into the private room for staff.

Stefan hadn't realised he'd been tense all through that conversation until Damon spoke up.

"Relax, Stefan. Bree's the best witch in town. She'll find Elena."

"It's not just that, it's...I just don't trust her."

Damon helped himself to the peanuts on the bar, and started munching. "Why not? She's helping us, of all people."

"I know, but...there's something about her...Don't you think?"

Damon scrunched his eyes for an intense second. "Nope. Look, she's excellent...and not just in bed, which was - "

"Fine, I trust her!" Stefan turned his attention to the peanuts on the table, and gave Damon a sideways look. "Too much information."

Damon grinned. "You wanted to know about my university life."

"What did you study?"

"Oh..Err...nothing."

Stefan noticed the way his brother's eyes shifted away from his direction.

He began to grin. "What was it?"

Damon stuffed more peanuts in his mouth, and answered around them "Modeghffling."

Stefan leant closer. "What was that? I didn't quite catch it."

Damon whipped his head round to him and glared. "Careful Stefan, you don't want the whole bar to hear about your additional course for weddings."

"Damon! We've been through this, I was forced to go into that particular course!"

"Of weddings."

"I didn't choose it!"

"What course didn't you choose?" Bree had returned.

Damon opened his mouth, but Stefan shoved some peanuts into it, preventing him from speaking.

He smiled sweetly. "Too much information."

* * *

Please review :) It feels good to be back!

Both university courses for Damon and Stefan taken from The Fictionist's Blood Brothers and sequel.

By the way, Damon studied 'Modelling' - in case you couldn't understand what he said :p


	15. Never Leave Family

_I am so glad people are still reading this story! Thank you :D This is a short chapter, sorry, but it's building up to the big dramatic action! xD  
_

_**victoria: **Thank you :)  
_

**Chapter Fifteen (Damon's POV):**

"I know where your girl is being held."

Damon could feel Stefan almost leap for joy at the news.

He clapped the bar and got off the stool. "Right! Where is she?"

"Quite close to here actually, just down the road in the centre warehouse."

Damon grinned and flung his arm around Stefan. "See, Stef? We'll get her back safe and sound in no time at all."

Stefan nodded, murmured a thank you to Bree, before shrugging his arm off and hurrying to the exit.

Damon leant close to Bree and whispered conspiratorially "Not a man of many words, my brother."

Bree chuckled and put her arms round his neck, leaning in for what he was assuming was a goodbye kiss.

When Bree had flung herself upon him earlier, he knew he should have protested more, but really, he had a teeny bit missed the deep soul-searching kisses she gave.

And once she had him under her spell, he couldn't get away until she wanted to break apart, no matter how strong a vampire he was. She was that sort of woman.

However, now he thought he really ought to say something, as she knew about Bonnie.

He held up a hand at futile resistance. "Uhh Bree, look, I need to be faithful to _my _girl..."

Bree laughed and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Don't flatter yourself, Damon, you can't have two girlfriends at once. And I am SO over you."

"Sure you are, Bree, sure you are."

He saluted, turned around and walked out the bar.

Stefan was practically jumping up and down with impatience, scowling as his brother walked casually towards the car.

"Could you BE any slower?"

Damon frowned and slowed down to a turtle pace. "Yeah, I think I can."

Stefan gaped. "Seriously?!"

"I can always walk as slow as a snail if you want. Or slither as slow as one. Because as you know, they can't actually _walk, _with no legs. Shame they're not centipedes with a hundred. Or is it a million? No, wait, that's a mi - "

"DAMON!"

"Alright, calm down, jeez, just telling you the facts of life!"

Stefan shook his head in frustration. "You know what, I'll race over there now, get the scope of the place, while you follow in the car, okay?"

"Huh. What happened to being 'all in this together' doo doo doo..." (Yes, Damon did start singing and dancing to the tune, much to Stefan's embarrassment.)

Stefan dropped his head in his hands for a second, before calling 'See you in a minute' and running off.

"Hey, Stefan! Stefan!"

He couldn't believe this. Stefan had actually gone on his own, the idiot!

Damon should return home, make Stefan walk all the way back with his girlfriend in whatever state she would be in.

He can't just leave family!

Looking for the keys in his pocket, Damon realised the statement applied to him as well, and rethought everything.

_Stefan must be very worried about Elena...I'm sure she's fine, I bet she's having a - _

* * *

**(Bree's POV):**

Watching at the window, she saw the man snap Damon's neck, and watched his temporary lifeless body fall to the ground.

He lifted Damon's body over his shoulder, and turned around to face the tavern, giving her a mock salute before running away.

She retreated from her spot, and went back round the bar.

It was his own fault. His stupid fault. His and his brother's.

Did they really think they would get away with it?

She'd only done what was expected of her.

Still, Bree couldn't stop the tears from falling.

* * *

Please review :) Action coming up soon!


	16. Surprise

_So here it is, the next chapter! :D Hope you like :) By the way, hopefully you've read **Blood Brothers** __and **Blood Brothers: Finding family**__ by the amazing writer **The Fictionist** __because you may get a little confused with Katherine and Klaus. But if you haven't, don't worry, I'll do my best to not confuse you! :) The links to those stories are on my profile though, if you wish to read them (they are seriously good) :)  
_

_**victoria: **Thanks for your review :) Sorry this took so long!_

_Enjoy!_

**Chapter**** Sixteen:**

Stefan hurried through the streets, searching for the right warehouse. There were so many, he couldn't tell which one was in the middle!

In the end, he paused outside of one, and used his enhanced hearing to listen out for any unusual sounds.

Sure enough, he could hear muffled breathing coming from the one in front of him.

Smashing the padlock with his fist, he cautiously entered the building.

It was slightly dark, even for his vampire sight, so all he could pick out were two figures in the middle of the otherwise empty warehouse, with their arms tied above their heads with ropes that reached to the ceiling, pulled tight and mouths gagged.

Wait - two?!

The lights suddenly came on, and Stefan had to blink several times before seeing in horror that Elena _and _Damon were trapped.

He swept the room for anyone else, but there was no one. Taking his chances, he rushed forward, not understanding Damon and Elena's frantic head movements.

Reaching Elena, he pulled the gag out of her mouth before turning to Damon.

"Duck!" She shrieked.

Twisting round, he just managed to duck out of the way of a flying stake which skidded uselessly to the ground.

"I see being married hasn't made you lazy."

Stefan could have sworn he knew that voice, although it sounded twisted.

Searching for the enemy, he heard Elena once again cry out a warning, before being shoved violently to the ground.

Scrambling to turn and get up simultaneously, he stopped when the foot came heavily down on his chest.

Winded, he lay on his back, staring at his (ex)friend.

"Peter." He whispered.

Peter laughed. "Oh please, you really think that idiot would have been able to devise this complex yet brilliant plan? I _don't _think so."

Stefan frowned. "Then...who are you?"

It was Peter's turn to frown. "You mean, you haven't been able to guess? What! How thick are you? Well, I suppose this is still my moment of glory."

Sauntering over to Damon, Peter leant close to his ear and mock whispered "It's me, my love. Your darling Mitsy."

Damon rolled his eyes. That earned him a punch in the gut.

Stefan supposed the look on Peter/Mitsao's face was worth it for his brother, but he was shocked.

Had he and Bonnie missed anything out when they had been reading up on kitsunes before they had (presumably) killed her?

Could they come back to life?

Despair started pooling inside of him. With no witch on their side, how on earth were they going to be able to stop a kitsune?

He was pulled back into the scene before him when he saw Peter/Mitsao [**A/N**: From now on I'm going to call her Mitsao, but remember she's in Peter's body!] whack his brother with the stake.

Damon winced, but remained silent (not that he could talk, with the gag on).

"How _dare _you not be happy to see me! How dare you _kill _me!" with every sentence, she whacked him again.

Stefan sprang up and shouted "Stop!" and then abruptly took a step back when Mitsao turned towards him.

If looks could kill...

Mitsao stalked slowly towards him, while Damon equally glared at him from behind her.

"_You_...I haven't even started with you yet."

"Leave him alone!"

Stefan's heart stuttered. He'd hoped Elena wouldn't get involved, but he knew it was a false hope.

"Maybe I should start with her first, force her to flex her limbs in excruciating contortions?"

Mitsao changed her path, aiming for Elena, but Stefan sped in front of her. "Don't you dare touch her."

Mitsao smiled. "What are you going to do against a kitsune? Nothing. Now get out of the way, or I'll practice the contortions on you."

Stefan stood there, resolute.

Elena whispered "Stefan, move out the way!" and Damon was making muffled noises, not able to speak, but Stefan only gritted his teeth and clenched his hands.

Mitsao smiled evilly, and flung her arms out, eyes flashing...

Stefan squinted. Her eyes hadn't flashed red. The only thing they'd flashed with was evilness.

Mitsao's gaze dropped to her outstretched hand, which she let fall back to her side.

"That was just for theatrics. Now you will feel the pain."

Again Stefan clenched his hands and braced his body, and Mitsao glared at him full of hate...but again nothing happened.

For the first time, Stefan saw Mitsao's worried expression, as she put her hands to her temple and rubbed it.

Stefan took this time to ungag Damon, and began working at loosening the ropes tied around his wrist, before his brother nudged him to untie Elena's first.

Damon took this opportunity to taunt his ex-fiancée, while Stefan frantically shook his head.

"Feeling a little weak are we? Looks like coming back from the dead hasn't done you any favours: you're stuck in Peter's body, and you have no powers. Just a regular pathetic human, aren't you?"

Stefan had almost finished untying the rope around Elena's wrists when he felt a great pressure round his throat, and shouts from both Elena and Damon, before he blacked out.

* * *

**(Damon's POV):**

"Can a regular human nearly suffocate a vampire - as pathetically weak as your brother? No. I have the same strength as you, and I'd be careful if I were you otherwise he," she kicked Stefan's prone body, which filled Damon with rage "snuffs it."

Elena turned to him with terrified eyes, but Damon kept his attention focussed on Mitsao.

"But he won't, will he? If you'd wanted to kill him, or any of us, you'd have done it already, so what are you waiting for?"

"Ah, you're a clever one. That's why I picked you. Always the clever ones. Except for Peter, don't know why I picked him."

"That's not a very nice thing to say about your host, you'll hurt his feelings."

"I'm not staying in this body for long, no way, as soon as my body comes back, I'm transferring!"

Damon stopped giving Elena the 'work at getting your hands free' look and stared instead at Mitsao, who was walking over to a tarpaulin covered area.

"Your...body? How are you getting that back exactly? As far as I know, my girlfriend did some witchy juju and it went 'poof' into flames."

"Ah yes, that pesky little witch." Her back was to him, but he was pretty sure she said something like 'witch'. "What gave her the idea she could steal my guy, and get away with it?"

"Umm you died? And I wasn't your guy to begin with. You forced me into it - not the same thing!"

"Is that what you said about Katherine?"

"Probab - err what?" Damon's mind went blank. What did Katherine have to do with anything?!

"You killed her, didn't you? Just like you killed me. Well, in the other side, spirits talk. And we had a _lot _to talk about. With the help of a powerful Original impressed with our cause - who you also killed, by the way - we were able to create a group of three - a trio. A special kind of force. By waiting for the right moment, in this world and the other, a powerful push can be created, in which three spirits are able to form their beings on this side. And this could only have been done if we all had a common cause. And believe me, no one else wants revenge as we do. Because of your brother, you killed us."

Pulling the tarpaulin aside, Damon's eyes widened.

Three bodies were lying on the floor, wrapped in mist, not yet fully formed.

(The real) Mitsao, Katherine and Klaus.

"Say hello to your past, Damon."

* * *

Please review x)


	17. Hard Choice

_Thanks for your lovely reviews, I wonder how Damon, Stefan and Elena will get out of this :D (I'm sure Damon's will think of something...) :p  
_

_**victoria: **Thank you for your review! xD  
_

_**EvaMedina**: Haha, hopefully they'll get out alive ;D Thank you :D  
_

_**Jess: **Oh wow, is this really Jess? The real Jess? Who reviewed all the chapters of my stories, but then mysteriously left me? :p I'm only joking, I'm glad you're back :D Thanks for your review. No not kidding, I'm just kind of going with the flow! I don't know what gave me the idea to bring the past three enemies of the stories back :p Hey, it's okay, I didn't update for ages because of school starting etc so I understand :D Also, thanks for your review for Take Me in Your Arms. I have many more Damon/Stefan stories up my sleeve from various episodes in the seasons, it just takes time to form a storyline (even though most are one-shots) and actually type it out :p I'm glad you liked that story anyway:) _

_Enjoy!  
_

**Chapter Seventeen:**

Stefan woke with a pounding in his head, due to major oxygen loss.

Turning his head to the right, he saw a figure and blinked his eyes, trying to clear them.

Squinting, he saw the figure open her eyes slowly and look towards him.

He sighed in relief. "Elena! Are you okay?"

She blinked again, seemed to focus on him, and smiled.

It was the smile that indicated who she really was.

Scrambling back in horror, he tripped and fell on someone else.

Raising his head, he saw icy blue eyes penetrate his. Crying out in shock, he got up and stepped quickly away.

"K-Klaus."

Klaus glared at him, and opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"He can't speak yet. Neither of them can. They need to rebuild their strength, but they'll soon be back to normal."

Stefan turned and found himself in the same warehouse as before, with Elena and Damon still tied up.

Peter - _Mitsao_ - was smiling at him amusedly.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Finally, we've been waiting for you to wake up so _she _ can tell us her master diabolical plan. Apart from bringing her best buddies over there to life."

Stefan looked over to see how Damon was faring. Apart from a few slow healing scrapes, he seemed all right.

Elena, however, was dangling like an inanimate corpse.

Starting towards her anxiously, Damon quickly glanced towards Mitsao - who was checking up on her friends and furiously shook his head.

Mitsao got up and went over to Stefan, noticing him focused on Elena. "Ah, she was getting increasingly irritating so I snapped her neck."

"You _what_?"

"Yeah, it went _crick. _Fascinating actually."

Stefan looked in horror towards Damon, who sighed. "She did no such thing, Elena just fainted from the shock of it all. She's only human after all."

"Aww Damon, why spoil the fun? She may as well be dead by the time Katherine and Klaus finally revive themselves."

Stefan swallowed. "Why, what are they going to do to her?"

Mitsao laughed. "Oh, it's not what _they're _going to do to her, it's what _you're _going to do."

"Err...what am I going to do?"

"You're going to turn her into a vampire. And then she can walk free."

Stefan glared at her. There had to be a catch.

"Why would I turn her, what has she got to do with any of this?"

"Katherine and Klaus want you and your brother, to kill you, presumably. I don't actually know their full plans. But why can't I have some fun too? I _did _get you all here by myself. Now turn her, or Damon dies."

Damon interrupted. "Hang on, if the KK Klan over there want us, wouldn't they want us _alive, _to, you know, torture us and stuff?"

Stefan didn't know whether this new idea to stop his brother dying was a good thing or not, but then his attention was drawn to Damon and Elena.

Far from being 'faint', Elena had managed to free her hands from the ropes binding her with Stefan's previous help, and was tugging at Damon's ropes.

Damon jerked his head at Stefan, who quickly focused back on Mitsao.

Mitsao started to turn around. "Okay, you got me. She dies because they don't want her."

"WAIT!" Stefan practically shouted, arms outstretched, as if to physically stop her from turning. "Just let her go!"

Miraculously, Mitsao stayed facing Stefan, amusement still clear on her face. "I can let her go, if she's a vampire."

"But she doesn't want to be turned."

Mitsao sighed. "Okay look. You have 3 options. a) Turn Elena, everyone lives. b) Don't turn Elena, Damon dies. c) Don't want Damon to die? Elena dies."

Stefan frowned. "...Is there an option d?" He asked, hopeful.

"Yeah, if I get bored, you all die."

"Oh." Stefan frantically urged Elena on in his mind.

Finally, Damon's left hand dropped out, and he was wriggling his right one out, when Mitsao screeched.

She must have seen the hopeful look on Stefan's face.

Before Stefan could stop her, she raced forward and flung Elena hard into the wall with a _crack_.

Stefan rushed towards her and saw the shocking amount of blood running through her hair so, without hesitation, he bit into his wrist and held it out for a very dazed and frightened Elena to drink.

Reaching for it, she gulped greedily and then sat back, while Stefan watched her wounds heal and gave her a reassuring smile.

Only then did he realise what he'd done.

Mitsao crowed in triumph. "Now turn her!"

Turning round, he filled with dread.

She was holding the stake close to Damon's heart and her amused expression had turned murderous.

"Turn her, or Damon dearest dies."

Damon shook his head at Stefan and spoke quickly. "She won't do it. KK will be wanting us. She must have promised them - aah!"

Mitsao raised an eyebrow and swiftly broke Damon's free arm. His sentenced ended in a quiet but deadly howl.

"It looks like I'm going to break that promise."

* * *

Please review :)

What should Stefan do, turn Elena into the thing she hates the most, or see if Mitsao will really break her promise to the formidable Katherine and Klaus, and kill Damon?


	18. Saviour

_Here's the next chapter - sorry this took longer than usual :) I love all your comments and speculations but unfortunately Bonnie is not their saviour. I was thinking of bringing her in to save the day, but eventually decided against it. How would she have known they were in danger?_

_Also, I've only seen the first two episodes of TVD Season 4 but from what I've heard and read, things aren't going well between Stefan and Damon still? Apparently Damon takes his brother for a night out, then makes out with Elena after? Oh and they have this sire-bond? Okay, weeirdd... I will catch up soon and maybe write some Damon/Stefan stories centreing on those episodes to keep you happy :) _

**_EvaMedina: _**_Haha t__hanks for your review xD We shall see ;)_

**_victoria: _**_Thank you for your review! :)_

**_Jess: _**_Wow. Just wow. You're defiitely back? :p I've kind of answered this in the PMs I sent you :) Haha well Elena isn't one of the major character in my stories! Can you guess who is? :p I'm well jealous of her too! I've only seen the first two episodes of TVD Season 4. It's all right, I love long reviews =D_

_Enjoy! REMEMBER THAT KLAUS AND KATHERINE ARE TAKEN FROM THE FICTIONIST'S BLOOD BROTHERS AND SEQUEL STORIES! :)  
_

**Chapter Eighteen:**

Stefan didn't have enough time to form a coherent thought before something or someone whizzed past him, and next thing he knew, Mitsao was cracking _her _head against the wall.

Seeing who his saviour was, Stefan blinked. "Katherine?"

"Not my Damon." She crooned, snuggling up to Damon - who still had one hand trapped. Stefan could see he was trying to painfully set his broken arm.

Meanwhile, Mitsao had recovered, and strode towards Katherine.

"What are you doing? You still don't have all your powers back, you should be resting!"

Katherine's eyes turned icy. "You don't _touch _my Damon."

"He was also _my _Damon, remember? We shared some...intimate moments. We were going to get married actually."

Damon held his good hand up "Girls, please, don't fight over me!" Then he whispered "Don't fall for it, Katherine. She's just jealous because I didn't love her like I love you."

Katherine grinned while Mitsao shrieked in rage, raising the stake towards him again.

"I _said_ leave him alone."

Katherine stalked towards her, joy turned to fury in a second, and they began to circle each other.

Stefan took this opportunity to scramble his way over to Damon. He had set his arm straight, but it looked like it had hurt like hell.

While he finally cut the rope, and supported his tired brother, he whispered "Why did you tell Katherine that you love her?"

"Because I do." Damon's answer was quick and precise.

Stefan wrenched his head back from where he was bent under Damon's weight, and studied his brother's face.

Was this a trick?

* * *

**(Damon's POV):**

Damon kept his face expressionless as he took the lead, tugging a still soul-searching Stefan forward, and motioning for Elena to follow them.

They hadn't gone more than a few steps when they heard a high piercing shriek, and couldn't help themselves.

They turned as one to face the scene.

Both Katherine and Mitsao were on the floor. Katherine, because she had been nearly defeated; Mitsao, however, was writhing in agony for no apparent reason.

Katherine got up slowly and looked to her left.

Damon, Stefan and Elena followed her gaze.

Holding the heart of Mitsao's real body, was Klaus.

"I believe she'll need this to survive."

As he squeezed it, Mitsao's body began to fade and as it did, Mitsao's squeals grew fainter and weaker.

Suddenly, there was no trace of Mitsao (body and heart) anywhere. Peter's body lay on the ground, immobile.

Katherine went over to his body "Should dispose of this body as well."

"No!"

Everyone's heads snapped to the younger Salvatore brother, while Damon shut his eyes to quell his rising anger.

If they miraculously got out of this alive, he was going to kill his brother.

Slowly and painfully.

Just as he thought they might have the chance to run out the warehouse and scatter, Stefan's damn morals had to get in the way!

Peter, who had been terrorising (however unwittingly) Stefan's waking dreams these past few months, _obviously_ deserved to be saved.

Jezz, if Stefan cared so much, he could have written him a eulogy!

Katherine glanced at Stefan and smiled. "You care for this man?"

Damon turned to Stefan and imitated her smile patronizingly.

Stefan's attention was focused on Katherine, but his eyes flickered to Damon and he gave a little shrug. "He's - He's a friend."

"But he's a kitsune and allowed his mistress to inhabit his body to kill you. Was he your best friend?" Katherine's tone was amazed with a tinge of sarcasm.

She really was a female equivalent of Damon.

Damon could tell Stefan was beginning to heat up in this argument. "He might not have known he was being possessed! It's not right to kill innocent people when they're trying to change!"

A silence filled the room, while Damon gave Stefan the 'don't say another word or I'll kill you myself' look.

From his stand in the outskirts of the scene, Klaus made his way to Katherine's side, who put her hands on her hips.

"Wasn't I innocent? Did I deserve to be killed by him?" She jerked her chin at Damon, then turned towards him. "All I wanted was to change, to finally be with you for eternity."

"Are you forgetting the part where you were giving my brother over to the council to be killed?"

"I wasn't _really _going to let him die, I was saving you...then we were going to come back for him."

"He had a _stake _protruding out of his gut! He was going to die in that minute!"

Katherine began to look flustered "But - I - had to let one of you go."

"Which brings us full circle back to you wanting Stefan to be killed. So you're not innocent. Case closed, darling." He smirked.

Katherine looked like a scolded puppy, but Damon knew he'd got through to her.

He walked up to her and touched her arms, saying warmly "Do you see now, Katherine? I didn't want to kill you, but I _had _to. For that bugger over there."

He jerked his head to a statuelike Stefan, watching this exchange with narrowed eyes.

Katherine laughed and glanced up at him with tears in her eyes. "Well, I can definitely say I'm glad you guys stopped your fighting. It was becoming tiresome betting on who would win." She leaned in close and whispered seductively "My bet was always on you."

Damon winked, and gave her a disappointing quick peck on the cheek before backing away.

Klaus saw this new submissive Katherine and opened his mouth, but Damon was on a common-sense roll, and wouldn't let him speak "Don't even think about it, big guy. You also wanted my baby bro dead."

"He killed my daughters!"

"Daughter 1 was a vampire hunter..." he frowned "which goes to show how much she loved you. I'd love to know what you did to make her hate your species. And daughter 2 is standing right next to you. Very much alive."

Klaus opened his mouth to respond, but then Damon was struck by a phenomenon.

"Hang on, how did you even _have _kids?"

Klaus shifted uncomfortably. "I mated with a witch who was able to change my infertility."

"So I'm guessing both daughters were human, until Katherine wanted you to change her?"

"Yes. Why do you care?"

Damon turned for a second to smirk at Stefan and Elena, who looked awkwardly away, Stefan rolling his eyes.

"I think it's better off that your other daughter is dead. Elizabeth, was it? She obviously had a grudge or something against you, and imagine if she killed you. Then it wouldn't be just your death, it would be everyone in your bloodline. That would make you responsible for a whole lot of innocent deaths, including mine and Stefan's. So that redeems us, right?"

Damon took a deep breath and thought. _That should bring him round to sense._

He twisted round to smirk at Stefan. _Salvatore __as in saviour, Stefan. Salvatore as in saviour._

But if Damon thought he was going to be able to change Klaus' cause for revenge, like he did with Katherine, he was very much mistaken.

Klaus tilted his head to the side. "It redeems _her _killer - that's Stefan. _Mine_ on the other hand..."

Amid shouts from Stefan and Elena, Damon's world went black.

* * *

**(Katherine's POV):**

She would let Klaus kill him, of course. No matter what she thought of Damon, she was _not _going against her father.

He knew how much she loved Damon though. He was able to read her thoughts. And he was not a heartless killer, only when he had a purpose. So maybe he will let her beloved live?

In Damon's hands Katherine was never herself, she truly changed. He was her saviour.

She was what he wanted her to be, and despite his streak of darkness, he was, to all intents and purposes, good.

It was why she had chosen him, out of both. She wanted to be good, but with the mystery and adventure he could give her, unlike the hero Stefan who, to her, would have been plain and predictable.

She'd had a long time to dwell on the unfairness of her death, and had wanted to get her revenge in any possible way, but she could see in perfect clarity now why Damon had killed her. And it pleased her.

To see the brothers getting along together (however much they put on a show of annoyance), as they had before she had shown up all those years ago, was brilliant.

Even in this scene of danger, _especially _in this scene, their bonded aura was evident. Working together to not just save the girl, but each other.

For once, the young romance had turned out to not be the main relationship of this 'save the day' strategy of theirs.

She wished she had had that perfect relationship with Elizabeth, her little sister.

Contrary to what Damon believed, it was _her _who had made Elizabeth a vampire hunter. And if Stefan hadn't killed her, then Katherine knew her sister would have found her one day and not hesitated in staking her.

It hurt to know that she would never be able to make it right, never get the second chance that Damon had seized.

Anyway, even if she had been able to, it didn't mean Elizabeth would be have been as forgiving as adorable Stefan. Not after what she'd done.

With tears in her eyes, she turned away, not wanting to be present for the outcome of Damon's fate.

If it went the wrong way, woe betide anyone who faced Stefan Salvatore.

* * *

Please review :) Hope you liked it!

**A/N**: Katherine has a POV just because I wanted to put a different POV on the improvement in Defan and who better than the person whose known them for so long? Plus, there's an explanation on her story to show why she easily gave in :)

By the way, I understand why Elena chose Stefan in the show and books over Damon (because they make an amazing couple), but no matter how much I love Stefan, I can't believe _Katherine _of all people also chose Stefan. Like, isn't she supposed to be badass etc EXACTLY what Damon is? She hadn't even needed to compel him to forget her being a vampire! I'm glad _The Fictionist_ chose to have Katherine love Damon more :)


	19. Justice

_The suspense is now over! :D Sorry it took so long, I had mocks :( Thanks for all your reviews!  
_

_**victoria**: Thank you :)  
_

_**Jess: **Haha it's all right :) I've caught up to tvd finally, yay! (And have plenty of stories to do :p) I hope this satisfies your thoughts! :D I think Damon really does deserve someone who isn't romantically involved in Stefan first :/ Rose was perfect! Or Bonnie in the books! Thanks for your review! :D  
_

_Enjoy!  
_

**Chapter**** Nineteen:**

Stefan caught Damon before he could fall to the ground and placed himself between him and Klaus.

"Please don't hurt him!"

"A bit late now, I just broke his neck."

Klaus took a step forward, and Stefan took a step back, dragging his brother's body with him.

"Just...Just let him live. Please. Katherine?" Pleadingly, he turned to her.

She shrugged her shoulders, averting her eyes. "If Klaus still thinks Damon has to die, I won't stop him."

"But - "

"This is revenge, not retribution."

All heads looked for the source of the statement.

"Down here."

Everyone looked down, astonished to see Peter wearily getting to his feet.

They'd all forgotten about him.

"Uhh it feels like I have a migraine."

He scrubbed his face, then seemed to realise everyone (except Damon) was still staring at him.

Stefan was glad that everything seemed so Peter about him, but he remained impassive, in case Mitsao was still possessing his body.

Peter shook his head to clear it, then focused on Klaus who was beginning to edge towards Stefan and Damon again.

"You say you want to serve justice, but there's a fine line between doing it for justice, and your own sake."

"He _killed _my - "

"Yes, yes, I know! I have been awake long enough to understand what's been happening. And I was still conscious when Mitsao took over and made me do...nasty things." He glanced at Stefan with an apologetic glint in his eyes.

Stefan said nothing, but drew Elena to him with his free hand.

Klaus glared at Peter. "Then you will know that I should do this."

Peter sighed "But he pleaded his case so well. You can do what you want, neither of us can stop you, but on the other side you were some kind of Justice squad, dealing punishments purely, not getting involved. This knowledge is all courtesy to Mitsao, by the way. Every spirit looked up to you, at your power and...it changed you, didn't it? Obviously not in a I-love-everyone-now way, but you're different."

Klaus looked bewildered for a moment, before answering in a steely voice. "Take care boy, or _you'll _be on the other side, sooner than you think."

Peter shrugged. "I've already been through hell and back, bring it on."

Klaus muttered under his breath before turning back to the Salvatore brothers.

Stefan could feel Damon beginning to wake up and decided to act.

He couldn't have his brother ruin the slow improvement he'd begun to see in Klaus.

Handing Damon over to Elena, he stormed right up to face Klaus.

"_You _cannot kill my brother. I don't care about your revenge, or your 'justice' crap, or any of that. Just know, if you so much as hurt my brother ever again, you will have _me _to deal with. And you know how I am when I'm angry. Weren't you fascinated by my torture techniques, not so long ago?"

"You know I can just compel you, right?"

"You know me. And you know that _nothing _gets in the way of my emotions. I can't even turn the switch off for long!"

Klaus clenched his hands into fists for just a second, then released them.

For Stefan, that was the sign of the all clear. Klaus never did anything to show indecision.

"Okay."

Stefan's head snapped up. "Okay?"

"Okay."

"Okay!"

"What's okay?"

Stefan twisted round to see Damon pulling himself away from Elena and rubbing his neck.

With one last look back at a disappointed Klaus and a relieved looking Katherine, Stefan hurried towards Damon and started ushering him towards the door of the warehouse, indicating to Elena and Peter that they should follow.

"Wait - Stefan - what's happening?"

Stefan just shoved his brother through the doorway, his determination lending him strength when Damon attempted to dodge him.

As the two vampires, one kitsune and one human made it down the road without any disturbances, Elena jumped for joy and flung herself on Stefan, who allowed himself a small smile.

Peter went to clap him on his shoulder, when Damon twisted it behind his back viciously.

Stefan was mortified. "Damon! Stop! It's Peter!"

"That's what I thought on the phone. I failed you brother, not again."

He grabbed Peter's head, but before he could twist, Stefan placed a restraining hand on his arm.

"Damon, it is Peter. Even if I'd had the guts to phone him myself, I wouldn't have known that Mitsao was possessing his body. But now I know."

Damon glared at him a few seconds, then let go and stood back.

Peter stood straight and looked them all in the eyes.

"I'm sorry for everything I did. I say 'I', but I mean Mitsao. I had no idea a kitsune could possess another kitsune's body, with that weird ritual. I'm truly sorry. Especially to you Elena, being kidnapped must have been awful. And you Stefan, terrorising your dreams."

Elena smiled slightly, reassuringly patting his arm and Stefan grinned his forgiveness. "It's over now."

"Uh what about me? You snapped my neck! And kidnapped me too!" Damon looked left out.

Peter put his hands up. "Sorry!"

Damon grinned so suddenly, it was unnerving. "Don't worry about it."

They all began to walk back to where the car was parked.

It was a peaceful silence until Damon spoke up. "So, is anyone going to tell me how we got out of this impossible situation alive?"

Elena grinned up at Stefan. "It was all Stefan here."

"_Stefan?" _Damon blinked. "How - What did - Huh?" He looked at them each in turn, before rolling his eyes and laughing.

Stefan was about to join in until Damon said "Haha you nearly had me there. Now tell me who _really _saved us?"

* * *

Please review :)


	20. Balance

_Don't worry guys, this story is not yet over! Still a couple more chapters left :) We get to see the darker side to Damon here :p_**  
**

_**EvaMedina: **Thanks for your review, and I'm glad you're happy your wish was fulfilled ;)  
_

_**Guest: **Stefan and Peter saved them :)  
_

_**victoria: **It wasn't the last chapter don't worry, I will tell you when this story is at it's end :) Thanks for your review! :D  
_

_**Guest: **I'm not sure if you're the same person as before, but thanks for your review and here's the update!  
_

_Enjoy!  
_

**Chapter Twenty (Damon's POV):**

Damon slipped into the bar stealthily and strolled up to the woman cleaning the glasses left over from the day's earnings.

"Hello Bree."

Bree spun round and gaped at him, eyes wide.

Damon strolled closer "You look unhappy to see me. Why is that, I wonder? We were having such a good time earlier. I thought we'd continue the fun."

"I...you're...you're..."

"Alive?" He offered helpfully with a disarming smile.

Bree swallowed, then seemed to gather confidence from his friendly tone, and the fact that he hadn't killed her straight away. "She was my friend, Damon! Kitsunes are a dying breed, in fact, Peter's the only one left now, because of you! As a witch, it's my _duty _to keep the balance of life and death. No personal feelings, you know you'll always have a special place in my heart. But as Mitsao and her two friends came to life, three others would need to replace their deaths."

"So naturally you chose me, my brother and his wife."

"You had no right to kill her."

Damon's pretence of friendliness dropped away. "I had _every _right. She had no place in my town."

"_You're _town? You terrorised it from the moment you arrived, trailing after your brother. Therefore it only seemed fitting for the whole Salvatore family to pay for what they did. Your little feud cost the lives of good people. And then that girl happened to become a Salvatore in time for the ritual."

"I knew it. You never got over me. This is to get back at me."

"Don't be naive, Damon. Some things were never meant to be."

"Exactly. Your _friend_ is dead. She should never have existed in the first place. So there only needs to be a balance for two 'rise from the dead yet again' vampires. Why don't you replace half the balance, seeing as it's your duty?"

"I'm not dead."

Damon smiled angelically before plunging his arm into her chest and pulling it out again, watching her face turn instantly to one of horror and pain.

"You are now."

He felt the heart pulse once, twice...no more, before he dropped it on the ground at his feet.

She slowly slid down on the floor, her eyes becoming dull, her body lifeless.

Damon looked upon her with detachment before saluting her mockingly for the last time.

"Goodbye Bree."

Stepping casually over her body, Damon washed his hands at the sink, slung his jacket over his shoulder and exited the bar from the fire exit, whistling as he left.

* * *

Please review :)

Sorry this chapter is short, it's sort of a filler chapter for the next couple of big chapters :D


	21. Perfect Plan

_Sorry about last chapter, as I said, it was really a filler chapter to keep you guys interested (and move the story along) for the bigger chapters - this one! :D_**  
**

_Thanks to all my great fans for all the support you've given me :D  
_

_**victoria: **Sorry, apology above! And thanks for your review, I'm glad you like that the story isn't ending yet :)  
_

_**Guest**: Thank you, happy new year to you too! :D  
_

___I won't be able to update for a couple of weeks because of exams, so e_njoy this one!  


**Chapter Twenty One (Damon's POV):**

Damon entered his house later that evening to find Bonnie and Peter chatting animatedly in the living room.

Hanging his jacket on the staircase, he walked in.

"You're not thinking of stealing my girl too, are you?" He asked, not fully joking.

When Bonnie heard his voice, she jumped up and ran straight into his arms, holding onto him as tight as she could, while Peter averted his eyes.

"Why didn't you come home with Stefan, Elena and Peter?" Bonnie demanded.

Damon flashed her a smile while narrowing his eyes at the mention of Peter. He still couldn't bring himself to trust the guy. "I had to sort something out. Why, you miss me?" His eyes glinted.

Bonnie glared up at him. "Never leave without back up. They've all filled me in on what happened, and you got hurt! I should have come with you, I should have known this was bigger than just Elena."

Damon stroked her hair. "Hey, it's all right, it's over now." His eyes strayed to Peter as he got up from the sofa, awkward with the scene. "Well, nearly. Where are the lovebirds anyway?"

"They went back to their house."

"Oh." After so many weeks of living with Stefan again, Damon had forgotten that his brother no longer lived at the Salvatore House permanently.

Bonnie looked up at him, and Damon knew she had caught more emotion behind that one syllable than he had let on. "Elena really needed some time off from everything."

"Yeah, I understand. Look, there's something that I...that _Peter _and I have to do. But I'm glad you waited for me."

He leant down while Bonnie's face remained turned up, and he brushed his lips lightly against hers. She seemed not able to resist his restraint and pulled his head down.

The touch of her lips caused fireworks to explode around Damon's head and he was sure that he would ignite into flames if they went deeper with their desires.

No matter how many times they kissed, Damon still felt the nigh magical spark that erupted since the very first time.

She evidently felt it also, dragging her hands through his hair and down his back, feeling the contour of his well-defined muscles and sending tingles down Damon's spine.

You can see why Damon was more than a tad annoying when they were interrupted by Peter coughing purposefully.

Pulling back, he glared daggers at the man. "What are you still doing here?"

"Uhh Damon, you said we had stuff to sort out..."

Ah, he'd forgotten.

Bonnie smiled up at him teasingly, as if she knew what her presence had done, and backed away. "I think I should leave..."

Damon nodded reluctantly. "Sure, if you reeeally want. Could you come round tomorrow? I may have use for you."

"_Use _for me?"

"Yeah, you know, your witchy skills."

"Oh and that's all you want?" She asked slyly.

"Of course." When she raised her eyebrows he grinned his heart-stopping crooked smile. "And _maybe_ more besides...Bye now."

Bonnie stood still for a few seconds then waved and walked out dazedly, starstruck by his magnificence (he liked to think).

He turned to Peter. "Now we're alone, let's get down to business."

* * *

In the basement, Damon faced Peter.

Ever since Bree had told Damon Peter was the last kitsune, he knew instantly what had to be done.

"So...you're saying I need to die?"

Damon thought back over their conversation for the past half hour and nodded. "Yep, no personal feelings, you understand."

Peter tilted his head back, indecision written all over his features. "Ah, I don't know..."

"Look Peter, it will be a sacrifice for the world! Half of the balance still needs to be restored, and you're the best candidate because the late Bree told me that you're the last of your kind. So a) we rid ourselves of kitsunes once and for all, and b) Mitsao can't use you again to do more disastrous things to Stefan and Elena. What's not to like?"

"The part where I die?" Peter's voice only held resignation now. He could see the sense in Damon's words. So trusting.

"You know it's the right thing to do, Peter." He walked forward and placed his hands on the other man's shoulders.

He couldn't say he'd miss him. The kitsune had been a part of his brother's life for only a few months, and look how much trouble he'd caused!

Peter swallowed and nodded. "Yeah, yeah I know. And it's not just because you want to get rid of me?" He laughed to show he was joking.

Damon smiled with no reply.

Peter's eyes began to glisten, but he held it in. "Tell - tell Stefan that I love him, my best mate, and I owe him forever for not letting me die in that warehouse, despite all I'd done and that I'm sorry for everything. Will you do that?" He stared at Damon shrewdly, as if searching for any deception.

Damon put on his most trustworthy expression. "I will."

* * *

Damon's head snapped up from the body of Peter at the sound of his brother's voice.

"Daaaamon? Damon, where are you?"

Before he could react, Stefan crashed down the stairs and into the area. "Damon, why - "

His brother's eyes widened to extremes when he noticed the body on the floor and he couldn't form a coherent sentence. "What...why...is he..._Did you kill him?!"_

"I - What are you doing here?" For once he was caught unawares.

Stefan's eyes strayed from the body to his brother. "I thought you wanted me to come round more often!"

Seriously! Was this fate laughing at him - knowing what he desired, but twisting it to happen at the most inappropriate time?, Damon raged inside himself, yet outwardly calmly straightened out, stepping in front of the body.

"Stefan, please go back upstairs."

"What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything. I mean, I did, but - "

"Peter!" Stefan wasn't listening to his brother's answer, shouting over Damon's shoulder, as if that could wake the kitsune from sleep - a sleep with no heart. "Peter!"

"Stefan - get back upstairs!"

The demand in Damon's tone finally caught Stefan's attention, and - much against his will - he backed away.

As Stefan stalked upstairs, Damon quickly laid a blanket over the body, then followed his brother, wondering how he was going to get out of this.

* * *

As soon as he entered the living room, Damon was shoved against the wall.

"_Why _is Peter dead in our basement?"

"Because I killed him, brother."

Stefan took a step back, releasing his brother in the process, distress written all across his features.

Damon was surprised at himself for admitting what he'd done so readily without a well-placed lie up his sleeve.

He realised it was because what he was going to tell Stefan was the truth. Well, mostly, some alterations needed.

"The balance of life and death needed to be restored, and he offered himself up because he thought he deserved it. Being the last kitsune and all."

Stefan's mouth opened and closed, as if that wasn't what he'd been expecting, then he turned his face away.

"But - but...we'd only just saved him! I'd only just met up with him again. I..." Stefan quickly faced Damon again "wait, _two_ vampires came back from the dead, so who else did you kill?"

Damon widened his eyes, hurt. "Why do you always blame me for killing everyone?"

Stefan crossed his arms firmly and raised his eyebrows.

Oh, his brother knew him too well.

Damon sighed. "You don't need to worry about it, little brother. All is taken care of. I promise you."

"That's all you ever say, but I never know what it is you've done!"

Damon rubbed his forehead, seeking a way out, when an idea sparked in his head. "Okay look, forget what I said, it's not taken care of. The balance has only been restored by one life, now for the other we either take an innocent life - " a look from Stefan " - yes, _another _innocent life Stefan, which is obviously a no-no for you, or we kill the person who's breached the balance in the first place!"

Stefan frowned. "So...we kill either Katherine or Klaus?"

"That's right! The only problem is, which one?"

"And how the hell do we do it!" Stefan was looking at him like he'd gone out of his mind. They _had _just escaped from those baddies, after all.

Damon grinned, maybe with _too much_ relish at the prospect of killing. "We use our special weapon: Bonnie. She's powerful enough to desecrate any vampire she knows without having to be in close distance to them."

"And she knows Katherine _and _Klaus."

"So I ask again...which one do we kill?"

It had to be Stefan's choice. Although it wouldn't matter in the end.

His brother didn't need to know about Bree, or the fact that Peter essentially gave himself up for nothing.

The way Damon saw it, logical to himself as always in his mind, was that he was killing two birds with one stone.

Or, to put it simply, killing two enemies out there - no doubt biding their time to return - with one spell.

It was the perfect ruse, which equalled to the perfect plan.

* * *

Please review :)


	22. Partners in Crime

_Sorry it's taken so long to update this chapter, but it's here now ;) As always thank you for your reviews! Wow, over a hundred O.O_**  
**

_**victoria: **Thank you! Maybe not in this chapter, but in the next definitely ;)  
_

**Chapter Twenty Two (Stefan's POV):**

Stefan woke to find himself at peace, for the first time in what had felt like an age.

He turned to find Elena smiling warmly at him.

"No nightmares?"

"No nightmares."

That was all that needed to be said.

The torture had ended.

Eyes sparkling, he draw a giggling Elena under the covers for a little while longer.

* * *

**(Damon's POV):**

Glancing up momentarily from the paperwork on the desk at the sound of the door, he glared. "You're late."

"I didn't realise there was a deadline."

Damon narrowed his eyes at his brother. "DO you even _want_ either of the KK duo to be gone from our lives?"

"Yes - of course!"

"Well then. Have you given any more thought as to who to top off?"

Stefan looked startled. "_I'm _going to choose?"

"I'm not doing all the work, am I?"

"Well, umm...I - err - think..."

He was interrupted by Bonnie entering the room.

"Hey Stefan. Have a good night's sleep?"

Stefan smiled and nodded. "The best ever."

Bonnie returned the smile, while Damon wolf-whistled. She shared Stefan's exasperated look and turned to Damon. "Have you chosen which undesirable to kill?"

Damon glanced at Stefan, then decided to save him from the decision, seeing as it was fake and all.

"Kath - "

" - Klaus."

Startled, Damon turned to his brother. "_What?_"

Stefan's eyes widened. "I thought - you said it was my..." at Damon's continued disbelief-filled expression, he trailed off "...never mind."

"Why Klaus? Why not Katherine, who's one hell of a b****?"

It was Stefan's turn to be surprised. "_Katherine? _You want to kill Katherine?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"But she - "

"'She' what, Stefan?"

Damon looked at his brother with an intensity which obviously bothered Stefan.

He mumbled instead "Thought you said you loved her."

Damon's look turned mocking. "Aww you think I can be seduced by _her?_ For why else would I say that? Other than, you know, actually loving her."

He noticed Bonnie's role on the sidelines, and rolled his eyes for both her and his brother's benefit. "I said it to get her and Mitsao against each other, dimwit."

Stefan blinked then lowered his eyes, flushing. "Yeah, I knew that."

Damon inclined his head, a slight mockery in his tone. "Of course you did."

A moment of silence followed, while it seemed neither wanted to be the ones to give the call, when Bonnie broke it. "So...shall we do it now?"

Damon quickly rose and ushered a protesting Bonnie out the room, calling "We'll be right back" over his shoulder.

* * *

Once they were in a separate room, Damon confessed his real plan; killing both Katherine and Klaus.

"You want to do _what?_"

"Ssh!" Damon glanced frantically towards the door. "It's for the best. You know it is! Both of them will never leave us alone. No matter what they promise. They're scheming, conniving little - "

"A bit like someone I know..."

Damon frowned. "I'm only looking out for number one."

They both knew he wasn't referring to himself.

"Okay I'll do it. Does Stefan know?"

In the silence that followed, she asked with a tinge of exasperation "_Will_ Stefan know?"

"Um..."

Bonnie frowned. "You can't leave something like that from him. He has a right to know."

"Yes, but then he'll have to know I killed Peter for no reason!"

Bonnie stared at him. "You killed Peter?"

Damon blinked, apprehension dawning. "I...didn't tell you that part, did I?"

"No."

"Oh."

Bonnie carried on staring at him, folding her arms in a stern manner.

"Look...he was ruining my brother's life!"

"It wasn't his fault, he was possessed!"

"Yeah, and what's to stop him from being taken over again?"

"You...you can't just kill someone because of that! It's - "

"It's _normal _for me. I can do whatever I like."

Bonnie clenched her fists, but remained calm. Leaning in, she stated firmly "You better know what you're doing, Damon Salvatore" before turning and walking back to the living room.

"Don't I always?" Damon grinned, following her.

Usually when he said something along the lines of 'I kill people and like it' people either ran away screaming or shouted at him (Elena, sometimes Stefan).

But not Bonnie. Bonnie was different. And he loved her for it.

Damon reversed mentally.

Was love the right word?

His eyes lingered over Bonnie's form as they made their way back to Stefan, the way her eyelashes curled in perfect lines...

The way her hair shone brilliantly in the sunlight, different shades of red boldly emanating from the roots...

The way her lips parted unconsciously when she was in deep thinking...

The way her eyes sparkled when she caught him staring at her and could take a guess at what he was thinking.

Love was the perfect word.

* * *

Please review :)


	23. It's Over

_Thank you for sticking with this story, even though my updates have been irregular! My love to all you guys! x)_

**_Guest:_**_Thank you :D_

**_victoria: _**_Haha I know, I'm sorry :') I did try and make him in character :) Ooh well here goes!_

**_Guest:_**_I know, I love Bamon too :)_

_Enjoy!_

**Chapter 23 (Stefan's POV):**

Watching Bonnie trance herself into witch mode, he realised this was it.

Katherine would never be able to get to him or his brother ever again. Ever. Again.

There was a part of him that wished they didn't have to do this.

There had been enough bloodshed, in the past year, and killing Katherine all over again really took the biscuit.

But it's what his brother wanted. And what Damon wanted, Damon got.

Stefan wondered if everything would finally be normal after all this.

Did he and his brother even know what normal was?!

Maybe Klaus would make a comeback after killing his daughter. Again.

Would history repeat itself?

Stefan remained silent as Damon laid out a map for Bonnie to track Katherine on.

As Bonnie began to shine, she uttered the spell "Thixe mou pou eivai h katerina petrova!"

A spot on the map emitted smoke and blue flames, causing Stefan to cough and wipe his eyes until it had cleared and Katherine's image grew to lifesize.

She was moving, and for a horrified moment Stefan thought that she had materialised in the room and would kill them all, until he noticed that she wasn't focused on anyone, and it was as if she was talking to an invisible person.

Damon walked to his side, not taking his eyes off Katherine and explained "The image projected is Katherine as she is right at this moment, so I'm guessing she's speaking to Klaus. But don't worry, she doesn't know we're tracking her."

_She doesn't know we're about to kill her. _Her life was going to end and she was oblivious...

"Damon..."

Damon still kept his eyes on the vampire. "Yes, brother?"

Stefan turned to Damon and was about to start persuading him to let her go when he truly focused on his brother.

Damon seemed...feverish. He was trembling ever so slightly, and his attention would not move an inch - even now Stefan could tell he wasn't really listening to him.

After a few seconds, Stefan sighed and turned back to face the apparition. "Never mind."

If Damon was that intent on making Katherine disappear forever, then Stefan would support his decision. No matter what.

* * *

**(Damon's POV):**

Damon didn't allow himself to shift his attention anywhere other than trained on Katherine.

He needed to time this perfectly. If Stefan saw Klaus' apparition pop up, mayhem would spring.

And Damon _really _didn't want that.

He didn't take much notice of Stefan's hesitation, and when Bonnie asked "Are you ready?" he nodded curtly while his brother remained silent.

"Parakalw skotwse tin katerine petrova, theos! Parakalw!"

A flash, a shriek, lots of smoke...and Damon jumped on his brother while Bonnie whispered furiously "Thixe mou pou eivai o Niklaus Michaelson!"

Amidst the smoke, Damon glimpsed a shocked looking Klaus (obviously his daughter had just died in front of him) before flinging his brother across the room and shouting obscenities, to cover the chaos of Bonnie killing Klaus.

A bang and a shriek and lots of smoke later, Damon rose slowly.

"What the _hell _just happened?!"

Damon saw Stefan also rising, looking dishevelled, bewildered, but alive...and smiled.

They had won.

* * *

Please review :) I think the next chapter may be the last...Maybe I could squeeze another two


	24. Belonging to This Family

_Okay here goes...I'm sorry it's taken so long, but I've really tried to make this chapter full of everything and it's the last chapter! Yep, here is where I say thanks so much for reading this whole story and the other before that, and I will still write one-shots and I'm currently writing the mini-story sequel to 'Take Me in Your Arms' but I really don't think I'll write a whole story for Damon/Stefan again. Unless I get plotlines or something, or you want me to write a story for you :)_

_Thank you so much to everyone!_

**_Guest:_**_I really think that you'll like this chapter then ;) Thanks for your review!_

**_victoria:_**_Oh I'm so sorry but here is the last chapter and I hope you like this as you've liked the rest of my chapters! :D Thank you so much for sticking with the story!_

_Enjoy!_

**Chapter Twenty Four (Damon's POV):**

Opening the windows, Damon waited for all of the smoke to dissipate before finally relaxing.

Finally, they were free. Seriously free. No avenging enemies out to get them anymore.

He could have burst out into song, except that wasn't him. His brother on the other hand...

"I can't believe it! Bonnie, can you believe it? I need to call Elena, we can celebrate, have dinner here with all of us together."

Bonnie smiled, Stefan's enthusiasm really was infectious, and she looked to Damon for confirmation.

"Sure!"

Stefan nodded before calling his wife.

After that, Stefan turned to Damon and slightly hesitated before approaching him. "Damon..."

Damon eyed his brother's apprehension and kept his face expressionless.

"Yes, brother?"

"Is it finally over? We killed - Peter and Katherine _had _to die to restore the balance, but what about Klaus? Won't he realise what happened to her and want revenge again? I really don't think I could stand it if we had to fight him again, there's always a chance one of us won't return and - "

"Stefan, relax! There isn't a chance that he'll come back because..." Bonnie's eyes widened slightly, and Damon really wanted to tell his little brother the truth but the bell rang and snapped him out of it "...because he wasn't even with her at the time. They had parted ways, and as far as we know from our research into the matter, he won't know anything. Which makes us perfectly safe."

Stefan tilted his head back, giving Damon the feeling he was being scrutinised, and the bell rang again.

"I've...err...got to get that."

He hurried to the door and opened it.

"Elena! What a surprise!"

Elena smiled, then asked why there was smoke.

"Oh we were having a bonfire. We're celebrating the end of our troubles Mrs. Salvatore, and would like you to join us."

If Elena was surprised by Damon's cheery mood, she was in for a shock when Stefan lifted her in his arms and swung her round, laughing as he hadn't for a long time.

Bonnie stood next to him as they watched the young couple enjoying themselves, but Stefan kept shooting Damon furtive glances.

"You should tell him."

Damon sighed. "I will, I _will_. Just not now...I don't want to ruin the moment."

Bonnie reached for his hand and squeezed it lightly "He will understand. But the longer you leave it - "

Damon twisted round and cupped Bonnie's face. "I promise you, I will tell him. But we should be enjoying ourselves just as much as the couple over there. Want to go for a spin?"

Bonnie kissed his hands resting on her cheeks, but resisted slightly. "I have a lot of cooking to do if we want to make this a night to remember!"

Damon put on his best pout "I thought we could just order Chinese."

Bonnie pulled back, pretend shock on her face. "I don't think so mister. You could help me with the cooking though..."

"Me? Cooking?! I like my food rare darling."

As Bonnie walked away she glanced back at him over her shoulder and smiled, a seductive aura arising.

It was so unlike Bonnie that Damon felt himself following before he knew what he was doing. "I suppose I could assist you, signorina."

* * *

**(Stefan's POV)**:

Sitting at the table, Stefan felt a warm glow.

This was his family.

Damon, Elena, Bonnie.

He could not live without them.

_But what about another family?_ A voice asked in the deep recesses of his mind. _The dad lost both his daughters countless of times, and now he's alone in the world.._.

That is, if Damon was telling the truth...Why did he feel like Damon wasn't being honest with him?

Maybe it was because he had always had reason to doubt his brother before.

Stefan passed the sweet home made bread to Elena, and was determined to not let his past prejudices stop him from enjoying this moment.

No matter what, his only family was where it belonged.

Safe, sound, and loved.

**(Damon's POV)**:

Damon was amazed at how well his girlfriend could cook. Italian food as well!

Although he really didn't need to eat this, and usually human food tasted bland, this meal was delicious!

He was sure Bonnie must have put a spell on it so that vampires could taste it too.

"Do you like it?"

Damon twirled a piece of pasta on his fork, and ate it slowly, savouring the taste.

"Are you kidding? I love it! Though I prefer what we were doing _while _this was cooking."

"Damon!" She looked towards Stefan and Elena opposite them, but they were too engrossed in each other's lips to notice.

Damon raised his eyebrows - after all, his girlfriend's exquisite food was going to waste - but left them to it.

He wasn't going to interfere. He had done that a lot recently and realised that he needed to take a step back.

His brother now had more than one family member surrounding him and hopefully soon, Bonnie would be permanently added to that list.

He was determined to no longer be the psycho overprotective brother.

Well...at least no longer the overprotective brother.

There was just one more thing he needed to do.

* * *

**(Stefan's POV):**

"The moon's bright tonight."

Stefan turned to watch Damon saunter his way over to him on the patio.

He nodded and murmured assent.

It was a beautiful night.

"Let's hope werewolves don't make their presence known."

Stefan frowned. "Werewolves don't exist, Damon."

"Yeah, well, nor do ninja turtles."

Stefan stared at his brother uncertainly, wondering if he'd had too much to drink. "What?"

"Remember when you were twelve and you still believed that ninja turtles were real?"

"I did not!"

"Yep you did."

"Did not."

"I'm sure your journal from that year will confirm otherwise."

"You can't snoop in my things!"

"Sorry."

Stefan did a double-take. Damon said _what?_

There was a few seconds silence before they simultaneously burst out laughing and Damon started whistling the ninja turtles theme tune.

Stefan wrestled his brother to the ground while Damon let him, and they both lay side by side in the echoes of their laughter before Stefan felt the atmosphere change.

"Stefan, there's something I should tell you."

Stefan remained silent. He knew something was up.

"When we killed Katherine...we also killed Klaus."

Stefan sighed. "It's okay, I understand - "

"Wait, let me...let me finish."

Stefan frowned. There was more?

He tried to think back over the events. The balance had been restored once Peter and Katherine had died, so - Oh. The balance could have been restored with Katherine and Klaus.

"Peter was the last of his kind...he had to die! We couldn't risk Mitsao coming back to life again! And it isn't just me she was targeting, it was my family. He - He wanted you to know that he was sorry and that he loved you."

Stefan sat up and rested his head in his hands. "Was it revenge? For what he unwittingly did to us?"

"Partly. But I don't think I would have gone through with it if there wasn't also a chance he would - unwittingly - do it again."

Stefan's head shot up. Was this his brother being totally honest? What had happened?

Damon must have realised what Stefan was thinking by his easy-to-read expression.

"Honesty is a vital virtue to belong in this family, Stefan, and I want to belong."

* * *

**(Damon's POV)**:

Damon hugged Elena and as she pulled back she gave him a peck on the cheek. "Thank you for this Damon. I knew I could trust you to fix this when I came to you."

"Really?"

She grinned crookedly. "No, but I'm glad you did."

Damon grinned back and watched her hug Bonnie before walking to the car.

Bonnie turned to look up the stairs. "Where's Stefan?"

Damon shrugged and Bonnie narrowed her eyes before Stefan came down with a box.

He put it down and kissed Bonnie on the cheek.

"What's that?" She asked.

"This is my final box with my belongings! Now my room can be used for guests, or as storage."

Damon spoke up. "I doubt that will happen."

Stefan turned to him, and Damon dreaded speaking. His brother probably hated him now.

Stefan walked to him and they stood facing each other before Stefan hugged him tightly and Damon could feel by his aura that there was no trace of hatred or disappointment.

His brother was really a remarkable being.

Stefan held on to his brother, and no words needed to be said.

They knew where to find each other if ever they needed the other.

With a last smile at Bonnie, Stefan bounded out into the night while the moon's light seemed to follow him to the car.

As they waved and the car disappeared from sight, Damon flitted up to his room.

**(Bonnie's POV)**:

She wondered why Damon had disappeared, but went up the stairs at normal human speed.

As she entered his room, she first noticed him, standing on the balcony, dressed all in handsome black, holding his arms out to her.

She then noticed the candles around the room were not lit, and a little concentration brought a burst of light that flung shadows on his face, but enhanced his delicate features.

As she glided into his arms, he placed one on her hip and the other held her hand.

"Care to dance, signorina?"

"But there's no music..."

He tilted his head and she realised she could hear the beat before the chorus and then she was led into a spinning waltz while the chorus played

_Who am I to tell you,_

_that I would never let you down,_

_that no one else could love you,_

_half as much as I do now,_

_who am I to tell you,_

_I'll always catch you when you fall,_

_Well I...I wouldn't be myself at all_

She returned to her senses when the second verse was being sung and Damon had slowed down, drifting them around the room.

Breathlessly, she hung on. "Damon...can I ask you something?"

"You may."

"Did you tell Stefan?"

The sparkle in his eyes confirmed it while she was lifted in the air and was allowed to feel like she was flying, feeling the breeze through her hair while Will Young sang 'I will always catch you when you fall' and she was back in Damon's arms.

She laughed and felt like she was a professional dancer and princess while they danced until the end of the song, where she found her head spinning and her body resting on one of his arms while he leant over her.

"A fitting song don't you think?"

She nodded, whispering "I loved it" while being dazed by the beauty that was before her.

She didn't resist as his head bent towards hers, and she revelled in the knowledge that she was part of this perfect family.

* * *

Please review one final time :)

A/N: The song is 'Who Am I' by Will Young and I can just imagine them dancing to it - it's amazing, especially the chorus :)

Oh and I know that Ninja Turtles were probably not around when Stefan was 12 but can we just pretend they were? :)


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